23.5 (2024)

23.5 "Even on the toughest day, something good can happen to you. It depends on how you look at it.

The first episode starts with this quote which gives the viewers a positive vibe. The first episode starts with a hope that gets destroyed with every next episodes. The main characters were supposed to be likeable but with their every actions they loose their original vibes that was shown in the first half of the drama.

TALKING ABOUT THE PLOT AND MAIN LEADS..........
Well the plot isn't anything new at all, it was predictable, a cliche misunderstanding plot which is often disliked by many. The drama losses it's touch when Ongsa lied to Sun about her identity, she literally played with Sun's feelings using being introverted as an excuse. Then Ongsa didn't have the gut to confess her lies, and she would have continued to do so if Sun hadn't found out. Ongsa couldn't do anything for this relationship until the last episode. Also at one point Sun was wrong. If the main characters losses their vibes like this, it becomes hard to continue watching the next episodes.

SECOND LEADS AND SUPPORT CHARACTERS
I really didn't like how they showed us the story of second leads because it felt so out of the place and random. They just randomly showed us their their cute moments without much background or story, there were only random romantic moments. Alpha was the most matured and likeable character of this drama. Ciize was so different in this drama from her all previous roles. It was refreshing to see her as Alpha. Rather than Tinh and Mawin, Ton and Mawin had more chemistry together. Tinh, Mawin, Ton and Charoen, their stories as a couple didn't make much sense. As I feel they were paired wrongly. I liked Teacher Nida and Teacher Bambam's story more than others. As they were caring and honest about everything.

The last episode felt like a special episode rather than the last episode. I was expecting something different not the common plot with unlikeable elements. There weren't any memorable moments in this drama.

Overall, It was just okay nothing special. They could have shown us the Grade 11 Ongsa and Sun's story from episode 9 to 12, Ongsa being matured, brave, straightforward and not caring about others opinions. It would be something different and special.

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Yes! A good Thai GL!

I have been waiting for GMM to release a GL and 23.5 did not disappoint! Whether or not you like the school-type romance, it is a genre that GMM has managed to perfect. I loved MilkLove in Bad Buddy, so when they announced they'd be starring in a GL, I knew I'd be watching it.

Ongsa recently transferred from the countryside to a school in Bangkok, where she happens to run into Sun, a girl she's been following on social media for awhile. While Sun and Ongsa become friends in real life, they also start chatting on social media - except Sun doesn't know she's texting Ongsa, and thinks it's a boy named Earth. Scared to reveal her true identity, Ongsa plays the part of Earth as long as she can, but knows Sun will eventually find out. She can't help but wonder: what would Sun do if she knew she was texting a girl? Even if Sun likes Ongsa, what would other people say behind their back about them?

This show is very cute - again, it's your typical high school romance but between two girls in the same class. The main conflicts bring up points that a queer high schooler would likely relate to - issues of internalized homophobia, the fear of other people's opinions, and the possibility of rejection. It's a great show that isn't too intense and is just a light and fun watch. I think that if you enjoyed GMM's BLs like My School President or Bad Buddy, you'd really enjoy this one. There are conflicts I wish they would have fleshed out a bit more, but overall I had a great time watching this weekly.

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It is a start!

This series was.. . something
The first episodes got me hooked like nothing else but pretty quickly you could see they were running out of ideas until most of the episodes had filler scenes and nothing else.
It was “nice” until episode 8 when they officially ended all they had to say (don’t get me wrong I LOVED the romance between the teachers but we could have had them ending up together sooner instead of waiting episodes and episodes of nothing) after it was just, eh boring until it got BAD in episode 11
I will not talk about episode 11 because I’m pretty sure the fandom talked about it at length, i will just say that it was incredibly fucked up how they treated Ongsa and as a LGBT member myself NO ONE should be forced to come out.

Said this, I think this is still very much a good starter GL series for GMMTV
The quality is the same as a modern BL series (which is a lot considering how high GMMTv treats its BL series) and you could see a lot of thought was put behind this
The chemistry was amazing and the story at the beginning was very very good so i truly hope that the awful (and right) feedback they got for the last episodes doesn’t stop GMMTV but instead motivates it to do better

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Cute but lacks some things

I'm quite disappointed because I wanted to love more and to give it a higher rating.. However, it was because in terms of the story, it lacks some things that could captivated me. I think I know some messages that they wanted to send and that was really nice but unfortunately it was not enough.

There's also some things or behaviors from certain characters that annoyed / frustrated me, it didn't help to fully enjoying the serie.

However, ok I admit, it was really cute and funny for some points, I did enjoy some moments, the actresses were doing great and the OST were also cute and catchy.

I only blame for the execution of the plot.. I think, I just hope to see MilkLove again with a better script / story with different characters and also, would be glad to watch another GL serie with ViewJune as the main couple.

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Literally the cutest show ever
A milklove show is something people have been waiting forever and we finally got it.
Such a warm show with even more cute characters. Ongsa is such a cute loser, I can’t help but laugh (and slightly cringe) when she does embarrassing things. Sun stays true to her name, being the positive light throughout. Aylin, Luna, Alpha, the teachers and friends, honestly such a loveable group of characters. And don’t get me started on how cute Aylin and luna were. How their relationship started and progressed were beautiful. All the actors were great too, an ensemble cast actually.
The sets were great too. The attention to detail is amazing, Ongsa’s room filled with space stuff, her phone case, Sun’s handkerchief and her bike, Aylin’s room and caps etc. All the aesthetics were great too.
Many people complain that the focus was too much on other characters, I would not say the issue was the focus on the other characters but the fact that the series was too short for 3 couples + 1 side character story and 2 conflicts for the main couple. They could have made the series a bit longer. 23.5 being the first gmmtv gl has to open new doors for other wlw couples and they did it for viewjune. Many people have started to pay attention to view-june as a pair and have started to ask for a show for them, even view has gotten attention individually. They have also given a space for godji and golf to be another couple. All of them deserved their own space. The show needed more time
They could not develop the characters much, especially Sun, we kind of know her character but not that deeply. After the earth conflict was solved, there wasn’t much to do about ongsa-sun and the last fight did not do anything. They just created a conflict for the sake of it. It could have worked if they addressed the issue of Sun outing multiple people and not seeing this out of perspective but they turn it make it seem like Ongsa is the one wrong here without addressing their lack of communication. Luna and Aylin’s relationship also seemed to have issues but they didn’t show it properly. Even the scene where Aylin opens up about bullying, they inserted Mawin, they could have made him relate to her or something.
Another issue I have is that they didn’t try much to make them ‘real’. Where are their parents most of the time? They are high school students but we didn’t see them studying or having classes much, especially after they started dating. What is their school routine? Alpha and Luna were in the school head club but never seemed to be helping the other students or interacting with them. Even the astrology club was left to dust. They could have included them in their dating era too. The teachers weren’t even seen teaching. Sun wasn’t seen with her friends after they started dating etc etc
Their past was also confusing, how does ongsa already have friends if she just moved there, did she move there alone or was alpha already studying in that school? What about aylin’s parents? Her past? Why is onsga so distant with her parents? Many were not clear
Anyways this was a very cute show. Milklove were great and made me happy. I hope they get more projects together. Hoping for a viewjune gl next year! Ongsa-sun and Aylin-luna will be always in my heart

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So many wasted chances

I really wanted to like this series. And even though I kind of do, I have some major itches for it (there are also a few great things).

Things I disliked:
1) I hate the "I text with my crush but they don't know it's me and we become emotionally attached" so much. Especially when all the lying goes on for a few episodes (MSP had this also but they gave it up after a short while). The fact that Sun fell for Earth was already like starting a romantic relationship in a very toxic way.
2) Outing each other. Since Ongsa didn't want to tell her parents about her relationship with Sun, we clearly do not have here a world where queerphobia doesn't exist. And if so, why is Luna outing Aylin (and calling her her girlfriend even though they did not talk about their status) and why is Sun outing Ongsa to her parents? Take a hint, Sun. This kind of things should be talked about first.
3) The whole alien treatment. Aylin is clearly autistic-coded and she was constantly (for the first few episodes) forced to do stuff even though she very obviously was not comfortable. For some things, she didn't even get Luna's apologies.

Things I liked:
1) The teachers' storyline. I hope this actress' pairing will be cast in other series cause it was very adorable.
2) How Charoen hasn't fallen for Ton's flirting. Otherwise it would have felt forced.
3) The overall cuteness.
4) How they developed Alpha's character and problems.

There were a lot of moments where the creators could have done the right thing and add a little apologizing here and there, and simplly not include some of this toxicity. But overall, for first proper GMM's GL, it was good and adorable and I sure hope they keep improving.

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Aylins story is the best

„23.5" was my first GL series, which made me very excited while watching it. Honestly I started watching it because of Aylin and her unique style, but the main couple also charmed me, making me enjoy the whole series.

Ongsa is a very relatable character, she is also very funny and slightly oversensitive, which is understandable, although it might slightly irritate some viewers. Overall, Ongsa and Sun had an interesting and enjoyable story, just like the side couple which kept me from getting bored. I would also like to mention Ton, who charmed me a lot, and I have a feeling that without him, I wouldn't have laughed as much.

The acting was good and I would particularly like to highlight View, who did very well in the role of Aylin. I focus mainly on her story because her subplot was quite original and really moving. I am glad that GMMTV undertook such a story.

The soundtrack, as in many GMMTV series, was so-so. The same song kept repeating but if someone is familiar with GMMTV series, they won’t be surprised. I always wonder why some series (including "Not Me") have a varied OST, even with American songs, while others have very few OSTs or just one.

Overall, I rate the series highly - I really liked it. I also enjoyed the behavior of the fandom on X, as we achieved a very good result in the hashtag.

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23.5 + more wasted potential

There's been a lot of talk about 23.5, ever since the pilot teaser was released, and for good reason. But as of this moment, I'm just a bit dissapointed.

It took me a while to actually clear up my thoughts on this and write a review that was cohesive and not spoiler heavy, because despite my disappointment, a lot of the series is worth watching. A cute and fluffy rom - com that looks like it's been engulfed in peach lighting, it truly did have it's wonderful moments. Unfortunately, the bad almost edged out the good for me here.

Let's start with the positives: a positive and playful setting, supportive friends, supportive family (mostly), supportive teachers, a lot of cute moments between all the couples, and some wonderful supporting characters. It doesn't seem like much when banded together, but there were individually quite a few good moments. But this is also where the list of positives end.

With the rosy lens they used to shoot they series, it's almost like they forgot that sensitivity is important when you try to address important and relevant conversations. This is one of the major reasons my rating fell, hard. The (almost) complete disregard of awareness in the storytelling absolutely boggled me, characters not facing any sort of repurcussions for their actions, slightly troubling behaviour from the leads being glassed over to display forgiveness and understanding, writing off a character's genuine worries and fears as her first being weird and then others being mean, this is just part of the bad writing of the characters.
Not that this was helped much by the plot, it was set up in the way that the plot only magnified the problematic stuff that the characters did. From Ongsa manipulating Sun's feelings, to Sun gaslighting Ongsa, I was incredibly frustrated with a lot of the plotlines they had in place. I realise that these are strong words and I don't have a problem when dramas exhibit these behaviours for what they are, what really ticked me off was the fact that they trying to keep passing all this off as minor arguments, and the fact that they tried to convince us that all was perfect and healthy, when it wasn't.

As I write this, I can say I have no problems with plots where nothing happen. Even if it's just two people falling in love without much else happening, I can appreciate it for what it is, but this felt like an attempt to create something where a lot happens, but towards the end, nothing has truly happened. I honestly would have preferred something that was boring as opposed to this. Maybe try fleshing out the characters a bit more, giving them time to grow into themselves and establish relationships with the other characters? What we got was a ton of half developed characters in a bid to rush along a nothing plot, which meant that when it came time for us to understand why certain characters behaved totally out of character, we're left scratching our heads.

That leads me back to the characterisation. I feel like the characters were split into two: the ones who get development and the ones who don't. They had so many wonderful characters, and only about two or three of them had actual growth and context, and even then, just half done. The rest of them were perfect as they were, needed no growth, could do no wrong which only made it more frustrating when they did something wrong. I'm circling here so I'll conclude the review.

I realise this an incredibly long review, but I guess I just had a lot to say. And for all the faults I found, I will say that they truly did try to make something worthwhile, and they almost did. It genuinely did have some moments that made me so happy, but now I'm just so sad because I was expecting to love this a lot more. The acting was good, the chemistry was decent and like I mentioned, a few of the supporting characters were amazing. But the writing just let everything down.
I've said this before, but bad acting, subpar cinematography and editing can be supplemented, but a bad story? Drags everything down.
I really wish it hadn't.

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WE, WHICH REVOLVE AROUND THE SUN

23.5, how I love you. How could I not? I love love LOVEEE MilkLove and ViewJune, but as much as I was excited for this series, I may have let my expectations take a toll on my rating.

STORY: Ongsa, whos just moved to Bangkok, meets Sun, who's a bubbly and bright person, just as her name suggests. Although it may seem like they've never met, Ongsa secretly has known Sun. How? They met through Instagram, of which Ongsa uses a fake name as "Earth." Scared of how she'll react, Ongsa keeps this a secret from Sun, as she doesn't want to lose her and this friendship that begins.

LIKES:
-Luna and Aylin my cuties😞😞
-The patience in the couples relationship
-The friendships within the characters
-Side Characters in General


DISLIKES:
-The awkwardness between the characters.. Weren't they supposed to be together? They had known each other for a bit before, yet could barely speak to each other without one of them either feeling flustered or just not knowing how to speak inn general. I can understand if it's due to their ages because I'm around that age range, but even I have seen less awkward couples.

-I was looking through other reviews and someone mentioned the fact that they didn't even really have a reason to like each other, which I slowly began to agree. Other than the fact that they share a bond for the fact that they have a FRIENDSHIP, they don't really have a valid reason to of liked each other. I understand if it's just you fell in love, but we didn't even see any of that.

-The story overall went downhill after halfway. I only continued to watch for the cute scenes of the couples, but even that almost couldn't keep me up. I loved MilkLove in Bad Buddy, but this.. It's just not doing it. I'm usually good at keeping ongoing series, but I got episodes behind because I just couldn't get through episodes.

OVERALL:

I can't bring myself to give this lower than an 8, for the fact that I love these two couples too much. This won't stop me from loving them, but this just wasn't it. Other than the cute scenes and great OST, there wasn't anything special. Just a plain gmmtv high school series but gl version. It's not a horrible start at gl for gmmtv, but it definitely could've been better.

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Cringe and Childish ?

I'll be honest. I didn't like 23.5 as much as everyone else. I think it was cute? But that's all. Honestly, I stayed for Aylin and Luna. First of all, I didn't really like Ongsa's character from the start. I sometimes found her a little cringe. However, I'm used to Thai humor, but this didn't work. I find the series a bit childish I guess? Sometimes I found certain scenes really too cheesy for my tastes. I found the series itself basic and boring at times. It wasn’t that bad either, just simple. You may not agree with me of course, but that wasn't my thing.

(English is not my first language, sorry for the mitaskes)

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Breaking Boundaries with Heart: A Review of '23.5' – A Sapphic Triumph in Thai Drama

"23.5" isn't just a Thai GL series; it's a beacon of inclusivity and warmth in a landscape often fraught with stereotypes and biases. As I reflect on its profound impact, I find myself compelled to share my heartfelt review of this precedent-setting show.

In a genre where representation often falls prey to sensationalism or marginalization, "23.5" stands tall as a testament to what can be achieved with sincerity and heart. The creators have crafted a narrative that transcends cultural barriers, inviting viewers of all ages and backgrounds to join in its heartwarming journey.

What truly sets "23.5" apart is its ability to entertain without relying on tired tropes or sexualization. As a 46-year-old who grew up with content that often failed to capture the depth and beauty of sapphic love, this series feels like a breath of fresh air. For once, I can sit down with my family and immerse ourselves in a story that celebrates love in its purest form, free from the burden of unnecessary sexualization or problematic storylines.

At the heart of "23.5" lies a narrative brimming with endearing characters, heartfelt moments, and a genuine sense of wholesomeness. Ongsa and Sun's journey from misunderstanding to friendship to love is portrayed with such sincerity and authenticity that it's impossible not to be moved. Theirs is a love story that resonates deeply, not just with LGBTQ+ audiences, but with anyone who has ever yearned for connection and understanding.

The cast and crew of "23.5" deserve immense praise for their commitment to authenticity and representation. From the stellar performances to the impeccable direction and cinematography, every aspect of the series comes together to create a truly unforgettable viewing experience.

As I eagerly await the possibility of a continuation in "24.0," I can't help but feel hopeful for the future of LGBTQ+ representation in media. "23.5" has proven that stories of love and identity know no bounds, and I can only hope that more creators will follow in its footsteps, embracing diversity and inclusivity with the same grace and sincerity.

In a world often divided by fear and prejudice, "23.5" serves as a reminder of the power of love to unite us all. May its legacy endure as a beacon of hope and acceptance for generations to come.

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