Unexpectedly good
First things first - so... I hate Non. No surprise there. But what I hate more than the fact that I hated Non, is that Non was created for the sole purpose of being hated. That makes him 2D, and I like my characters, especially antagonists, to have three dimensions, thankyouverymuch. The only attempt at adding depth to him is making his father an asshole, and even that felt less like actual depth and more like a cheap excuse for his assery. It might be a personal hang-up, but I can't stand villains that were created for nothing other than villainy. Stories are that much more entertaining for me when the bad guy is not that easy to hate, so the fact that Non was such a 2D bad guy spoilt things for me a little bit.I still liked the quite mature development in the PeteKao relationship enough to thoroughly enjoy everything else, but, again, no surprise that my favorite part of the show was SunMork. Holy crap, those two stole the show completely.
Also, ifl Sandee. Honestly, that entire group of friends is just adorable, but Sandee was so amazing in the way she dealt with their issues with maturity and behaved as the voice of reason. I love all the scenes with her just being totally badass in general, but the fact that she was an atypical non-bitchy female character in BL made her all the more lovable. Seriously, all the girls in this BL were just so amazing and supportive, so unlike the usual crappy ones, that it made me very happy. (I guess Non took the bitch role to a whole new level so that the girls could remain the awesome queens they are.)
I didn't watch Kiss or Kiss Me Again before this, so I didn't have much of an issue with the plot holes/continuity issues that I saw in other reviews, so this review and rating is purely for DBK as a standalone.
PS - the opening was just Chef's Kiss. I'm obsessed.
PPS - Rain is such a cutie.
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First one to make me cry!
BL's make me happy, embarrassed, excited, but they have never made me cry, until this one!This had all the good stuff, a main couple with great chemistry and realistic issues, a cute side couple. Great group of friends. A good sprinkle of villain/drama and all the feels!
One event in here truly destroyed me. I could feel that heartache through the screen. Watching them go through the motions of heartbreak had me in tears! It felt to real. It felt like it would never get better, that this was going to be it and we'd have to feel this pain for the rest of our lives. This was more upsetting then my own break up in real life! I never want this to happen in another BL again! I'm not crying, YOU ARE, okay we're both crying now WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
I felt so bad for Koa though, his little sad puppy face, trying to tell everyone he didn't do anything wrong while not being listened to at all.
The only thing that this was lacking was spice. The kisses were locked lipped, there was only one bed scene and nobody really talked about the deed besides a few teasing bits. I like my BL to be a little less PG.
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🥰😍😘💞🤩💕😻❤️🔥It is a great series. I love the story, the characters, the theme songs and the actors are very talented. The male leads and side characters are all so good looking, ang popogi nila makalaglag panty. It is a must watch series. I just wished it was longer, more episodes, go for season two. the series is so romantic and their acting/feelings they are all natural.
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Should’ve watched it sooner.
When I first heard about Dark Blue Kiss, I saw many mixed reviews. I saw more negative than positive so I put it off. Boy what a mistake that was. TayNew really has been that pairing since the beginning. The natural chemistry and comfortability. It’s genuinely something you cannot fake.The story- gworl I laughed, cried, threw my self against the wall (mentally) and left at the end with a fulfillment that I should’ve experienced sooner.
It would be crazy if I didn’t mention Pond and Gawin. They’re acting when it comes to their characters as Sun and Mork *insert giggling emoji*. The flirtatious eyes were all I needed.
Anyways it was good and should’ve watched it sooner.
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This thing got me emotional. Twice.
I had to rewatch this series again, because the first time I definitely overscored this for sentimental reasons (I cried) and it didn't seem fair.It's nice, the third act is definitely stronger than the first two, as in story and acting - especially by New, whose sad little face always makes me want to pat-pat his back and tell him that everything is going to be okay.
Contrarily to most of the comments I've read about this series, I'm not a big fan of SunMork, because unfortunately I don't like Sun's character very much, but I like that they had their happy ending as well! (Mork does deserve to catch more Pokémon on Pokémon Go, though. I hope he completes the Pokédex, I'd love that for him)
Pete and Kao keep being dysfunctional but apparently they're happy that way and it's fine. Sure, if this was a real life relationship, the red flags would be infinite, but it's not, and they're really cute when they don't start a jealousy scene or lie to the other for nothing.
The theme song is still very lovely, and I certainly will keep it in my playlist, while the opening score is ICONIC. I love it. If others opening sequences are good, this is their queen. The drama of it. The strings. The post-it notes with LOVE and LIE written on it. Amazing. I would love it as soundtrack during specific moments in my life just for making me feel like a badass.
The cast is obviously great. Love the original Cool Gang, and all the other secondary characters too, but the four main characters are all perfect. TayNew especially delivered great performances, reprising their roles from some of their earliest acting roles. They have grown a lot since this series too and I'm curious to see them work together as other characters as well: I'm sure their chemistry and skill will make anything they do worth watching.
As for the parenthesis in the first sentence of this review, it's true. I did cry watching this the first time. I don't know what it was, I've watched series like this before, but I guess something in this one got me. Could have been the sad music during the whole breakup period. Could have been New's little sad pout. Could have been the fact that Kao found himself alone in what looked like the worst time of his career and had no one to vent to. Could have been the fact that he came out to his mom not in the way he wanted, but she accepted him anyway, and gave him no pressure to do so, even if she suspected it. Maybe because when Pete and Kao find each other near the school office and they decide to talk , it's clear that they miss each other and the love is still there, even though they won't admit it. Or maybe because when Pete defends Kao during his live, he says they're friends, and their friendship has been very important to the both of them throughout their relationship, since the beginning, and, reader I'm sorry, but I'm a sucker for this whole trope.
All this to say that, sure, Dark Blue Kiss isn't a 10/10 even if it might make me cry, but it isn't that bad either.
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Don't recommend
Happy ending but it wasn't worth sitting through, it was pure torture I don't remember the character's name, but the show had unnecessary drama for the leads and supporting characters. The drama literally was dragged until the very end, it has an obsessed high schooler who became infatuated with one of the male lead's boyfriends. I can't remember if it started off to be petty and annoy the one he was rivals with and later turned into obsession love but my god the male lead one who wants to be a celebrity didn't trust his bf who was a tutor it was part of his job to tutor students who hired him. I can't remember why he still continued to tutor his stalker but the two male leads get into constant fights cuz the wannabe celebrity let his jealousy take over destroying his relationship with his bf knowing full well his bf wouldn't cheat on him but he let his stupidity take over. The supporting cast I don't remember much just one has anger issues and the other didn't want to date someone younger and i think he still had trust issues and didn't want to let someone in cuz of his past. I don't recommend at all unless you like sitting through intense drama.Was this review helpful to you?
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Left me feeling anything but blue
This one is an underappreciated gem of a show!Let me start of by saying I did not watch Kiss, nor did I watch Kiss Me Again.
What I did instead was watch a fan-made cut of Kiss Me Again (edited and linked here on MDL by the lovely Claudeville) which provided me with a solid grasp of all the characters' backgrounds and relationships and was more than sufficient for me to be able to fully appreciate DBKs continuation of the story.
Production quality wise, the series is excellent. The visuals are lovely, the music is fantastic (I am an absolute sucker for dramatic strings, so the intro is right up my alley), and script and performances are incredible.
I've seen some people take issue with the continuity errors between DBK and its predecessors, but personally I think the changes made were for the best.
DBK is still a soap opera, but it focuses heavily on the real issues many queer men have to deal with. The characters' overlapping relationships are complex and there is plenty of drama, but there is a sense of realism and authenticity to the story that is rare in this genre.
One thing the show does particularly well is the way it explores the many difficulties and issues surrounding a coming-out.
It shows the heavy relationship strain of one partner being closeted, the insecurities this can cause to arise, the resentment constant secrecy can breed. It highlights the painfully real social and financial concerns closeted people have to reckon with when they are considering coming out.
Where other shows main concern lies in whether or not their characters can find the courage to openly be themselves, DBK forces its characters to consider whether they even have the luxury to make that choice in the first place. Another user, Moonbyulie, elaborates further on this in their review, which makes for very interesting reading and I highly recommend having a look at that as well should you be interested.
Another strong point of the series are its characters. They are all (deeply) flawed, yet highly likeable individuals whose conflicting backgrounds and ideals lead to many painful clashes and whose individual journeys of character growth are both gut-wrenching and an absolute joy to watch.
They may at times make frustratingly poor choices, but they never stop calling each other out on their problematic behaviour and they never stop supporting and caring for one another.
Even Non, the show's ostensible "villain", is an incredibly complex character who walks the line between hateful and sympathetic perfectly.
In short, I highly recommend giving this show a shot. It's not perfect - some plot points certainly fall a bit short and some writing choices are questionable - but it also offers some of the most compelling and layered characterisations to be found in this genre.
If you enjoy well-written romance dramas that tackle real-world issues with skill and a good dash of humour, then this one is for you.
If you're in the market for a more serious and mature slice-of-life story which provides a well-balanced mix of romance and character study, then you will enjoy this series as well.
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Too watch this drama I had first watched kiss me againg petekao. Even that the relation between main lead dissapoint me a little. The main leads are good compatable as both good friends(among everyone) and compatable couple(in no one around).First they were a secret lovey-doveky couple and their relationship was only known by Pete fatherand he has no objection with it. This was all good. But when the reivel of Pete arieved(Non) the things gone a little upside down(it is hard to explain with words). Pete and Kao were in relationship for almost 2.5 /3 years. They should have some metual understanding among them. Pete should have understand Kao's stuation and Kao also should have told and explain to him without lieing. If this I ignore this part as they had no choice, but I can't the part of not to beleiveing in kao's words. Even knowing that Non is a spoil kid and a brat. Pete is insecure for Kao with him because of Non's charecter but he should not have separeted with Kao by beleiving in Non' words.
Other supported lead role Sun & Mork.. What I should I say about them. I litterary continued the drama because of them. They are both manly nothing like one is weak anfd other is not. Their chemistry was good. I wished they could have a sapareted drama. In my opinion they shine more than the main lead couples.
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The cast is cute, but the acting and characterization is weak
Overall, I liked this title. Cute cast and the story was alright. However, not sure if it was me, but I donʻt think I felt any chemistry between any of the couples. The acting was subpar for certain cast-members. But also it almost felt like there was no romance between the main couple. They had really romantic moments, but the story centralized on their conflict, which I know is the point of telling the story, but it seemed like majority of the show showed them butting heads. And the romance between Sun and Mork didnʻt really make sense. It was never understood why they were infatuated with each other in the first place, there didnʻt seem to be any legitimate reason for them to be drawn to each other, other than that they hated each other, and for some reason love always seems to be born out of hate. Honestly, I would rewatch this just to see the cast together.Was this review helpful to you?
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Acting was great even with horrible script and pacing
Hear me out, don't come at me without reading the whole thing.I have likes and dislikes. First I ll say what I disliked and then go to likes.
DISLIKE
1) Script:
Frankly speaking, I have often found Thai bl to have this issue. The scripts are just too bad. There is no meaningful dialogue between any of the couples or characters for that matter. Mostly, the dialogues are just too corny and cringy and hard to sit through. It was same here. Pete and Kao seem to be so cheesy that I was cringing half the time. Instead of being romantic, a little naughty and playful that we saw in Kiss me again, here they were excessively sweet and corny. Come on, who speaks like that in real life??!! I found Sun and Mork to have better conversation and at least it felt more grounded
2) Pete's attitude:
This was a major issue to me. I already knew that Pete is short tempered and pampered. So, being previleged as he was n his father being the most accepting n understanding father ever, he couldn't see Kao's side of the problem and acts very immaturely and unreasonably at times. I was hoping to see some growth in Pete's character in this show. After being in relationship for a year, you would expect him to be more trusting and understanding towards his other half. However, I was sorely disappointed. It took just one lie from Kao to make Pete lose all trust and fly off the handle. But I would have understood, if he was angry but he refused to listen to Kao at all and understand what led to him lying to Pete. Infact, when he did decided to have a conversation, he easily led himself be misled by Non when he (of all people) already knew what kinda asshole he was. I was so angry when Kao was sexually harassed by Non and after the horrid experience, he needed Pete, he wanted to apologise for not heeding his words before and tell him what happened, so Kao called him again and again but not only Pete ignored it but went on to switch off the phone, and delete all their pictures together. (What if Kao was in a serious trouble? What if Kao had gotten raped that night?) Pete's selfish attitude made me so mad. Being angry is fine but Pete acted as if Kao has murdered his family or something!!! I was so unhappy and angry by his attitude. Finally, they did show some growth of Pete but that happened in a matter of 1 ep...yeah you heard me right, 1 damn ep.... Instead of a gradual growth over the entire series. This was very disappointing.
3) Pacing (esp in Mork and Sun's relationship)
How do I explain this?! The beginning was so strong, it was going so well, with the establishing of Non as antagonist, Mork and Sun's relationship, Kao and Pete's relationship etc but then like in a matter of 3-4 eps in the end of the series all the hell broke loose and got repaired too. For eg: Mork and Sun 's relationship started off slow from Sun mistrusting Mork to finding his honest and kind side, then slowly developing trust on him, starting to share their troubles and forming an unlikely bond. But almost all at once, the relationship went from 2 to 200. They went on a city wide drive, confessed, kissed, had sex, became couple and had couple's fight as well in a matter of like 3-4 eps Wtf??!! Because it accelerated so much, that the slow developing relationship and the forming chemistry suddenly evaporated. I was expecting so much from this couple that I was left very sour and annoyed. Same for Kao and Pete, they were all lovey dovey and in a relationship, having sweet romantic moments and then BAM, all at once, Pete got to know Kao's lie, he almost broke up, Non showed his true colors, attacked Kao, destroyed his reputation, Kao confessed to his mother, Pete helped Kao restore his reputation and they made up. I cannot help but feel it to be so hurried. I couldn't get the feeling of crisis at all. Even it was just 1 ep where Pete was shown to have grown a bit, and having calm discussion with Kao. Done!! If the directors worked on the pacing the story would have came out so good!!
4) Non
Godddd!! Where do I begin?? In the beginning I was truly impressed to see that the directors were trying to make a complicated or layered character but I was very badly led down. He was plain annoying. I was waiting to see a guy neglected, deprived of love from his only parent and trying to fill that emptiness through Kao. I wanted to see an antagonist who was 3 dimensional and relatable instead we got an asshole, who used his past as an excuse to mess up the life of the only person who showed him affection 😒😒😒
LIKES:
Even with the flaws above, there were things that you just have to like about the series
1) Acting
The actors no doubt were really great. I esp appreciate Tay. I feel he is one of the better actors I have known in thai bl. He really brings out that previleged ignorant boy who easily loses temper and is possessive and stubborn to the point of absurdity but he still had potential to be a better person thanks to his love for Kao. He fleshed out the character really well. Though, the script was bad and the story's pacing has issues, I still found myself appreciating his acting. Infact, some of the extremely corny lines, he pulled it off amazingly. If not for that fact, I might have just skipped those scenes. New did bring out a good performance. I esp liked his scenes in the end of the series where he was attacked, and then confessed to his mother, then his sorrow on him and Pete almost breaking up but, I felt that in romantic scenes, he was a little stiff. I could see him trying but it was not as natural as it was for Tay. Sun and Mork did a really good job. Though, Mork has room for improvement, just like New, I could see him trying. The romantic scenes looked a little off because of his awkward and stiff performance but Sun was really natural and even with the bad script, he really did a good job. I could see how he was looking all lovey dovey towards Mork and how he was trying to seduce him. It was really cute. The side characters also did a good job, Tay and New's frds, rain, and manow...all were good in their own right. It did not look out of place or exaggerated 🙂🙂
Music:
I do not care if anyone liked the OST or not. I bloody hell LOVED it. It was new and there was something so beautiful and dark about it. In the beginning, I found the music to be odd but it grew on me. And as more and more the eps progressed, the music seemed very appropriate. The music placement in many of the scenes were very well done esp the music during the romantic moments of Kao and Pete was so good 💘💘
Story:
Yeah I know what your gonna say "dude you just said the story was not good" but no the story was good, the script and the pacing was not. The story of Mork and Sun esp was awesome. I could totally see an older brother mistrusting a troublemaker like Mork who uses more of his hands than brains. I also liked the fact that it was one of the only relationship where both were not college students and it felt mature rather than hormone fuelled teenage love. I esp appreciated the development of the relationship and how Sun slowly came to like the boy as time passed. If not for the terrible pacing where their relationship suddenly spiked, the story of their slow blooming relation was so beautiful. Also Kao and Pete's story was awesome to me. I liked the rivalry of Pete and Non, and how they were as couple, and how they were having disagreements but still found time for bit of naughtiness and romance. Yet again if not for the horrible pacing and Pete's zero to no growth over the series, the story would not have felt so rushed and Pete such an immature, irresponsible, suspicious bastard!!
Well here you have it. I loved the series but it has flaws. Its not perfect but it is definitely worth a try. I recommend anyone who wishes to watch it...to please check out Kiss me again before watching it. Thank you!!
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Hate/Love relationship
With this BL drama I have a hate/love relationship. There are many things that I absolutely ADORE, but there are also MANY things I despise. One of my biggest issues I have is with Kao. I cannot understand Pete's affection for this whimpy little liar. Although Kao starts to redeem himself from ep.8 onwards, I still feel that Pete is wayyy out of his league. Kao and Non kind of deserve each other is all I'm saying.The relationship between Sun and Mork had me screaming. I have a tendency to like secondary couples more than primaries, but these guys are the GOAT when it comes to slow burn until it blazes. I hate the aggressiveness of both Mork and Sun. And there is no explanation on why especially Mork is so violent. I actually cried when Mork finally decides to not fight (back) and ends up in hospital for it, with Sun being a total dumbass about it.
I loved the parts of both Pete's dad and Kao's mom. They are real understanding and defensive parents towards their sons. I adore them so much.
I will watch Kiss The Series and Our Skyy after this one to complete the PeteKao story.
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