This review may contain spoilers
Great job, Kanittha Kwanyu!
A Korean original (which I have not seen) and Kanittha Kwanyu as the director – these were two pretty good reasons for me to watch the show. And I certainly didn’t regret it.First the things I wasn’t so happy about:
- The length. The original has 16 episodes of about 45 minutes, the remake has 18 episodes of about an hour. I really can’t think of a good reason why they had to stretch it like this. Cutting it down to maybe 15 episodes would have helped to avoid getting repetitive (some dialogue was repeated several times with only slight variations) and to keep up the high tension (the “revelations” were mostly announced way too early). I really can’t say that it got boring, but the storytelling would definitely work better in a shorter format.
- The antagonist. I’m sorry, but Tida was just too evil. Especially if the overall message was that at the age of 17 nothing is as serious as it seems etc., you can’t just put in such a psycho. She was not a victim of domestic violence herself (as far as we know) and she didn’t experience any peer pressure, so where ist the key to understanding her behaviour? Although her final moments were very strong, with everything that she did I feel like she needed to be cured in a psychiatric clinic. I refuse to believe that such cruelty could just be a simple character trait.
- In my opinion, they unnecessarily idealised high school as an institution, I really cannot relate with such a depiction of it. Especially when they were wishing goodbye to Mr. Q, it got pretty awkward. Maybe this is in fact the experience students in Thailand (or Korea) have, to me it seems unrealistic.
However, I really enjoyed everything else:
- The production value. It is pretty obvious that the budget for this was above-average, resulting in more episodes, a great ensemble of actors and amazing work in the technical departments. If it results in this, I am certainly able to forgive the annoying product placement!
- The soundtrack. Getsunova stands for quality when you need emotional songs, and they did not disappoint. Also the general soundtrack was really on point, a lot of effort must have been put into it. In some scenes it however went a little over the top and felt more suitable for an epic Hollywood movie than for a high-school TV series; less is more, I would say.
- The cinematography. As a fan of cinema, I do pay attention to the camera work. And generally speaking, (Thai?) TV series most of the time are pretty average in this regard, also because it is mostly not an essential element of the storytelling (after all, movies and series are pretty different formats). In recent years, “Theory of Love” really stood out with regards to cinematography, followed by the great “A Gift to the People You Hate” and now “Who Are You”. It wasn't that outstanding in this case, sure, but the frequent use of inclined camera angles was a memorable and impactful effect. Colours and lighting were also well-harmonised.
- The story. The first episode already played a nice game of confusion with the viewers, showing Meen'a and Mind's parallel, but very different lives, setting up everything that was to come. Afterwards, there were lots of “hints” dropped throughout the series, making it a really exciting experience that (almost) never got boring. I would criticise that after that much buildup, the “revelations” about Meen and June were not so surprising and fell a bit flat, mainly because of the length of the series. However, the series luckily didn't just focus on the stories of Meen and Mind. The side-stories, above all Gun's, but also Pete's, and even Lyla's, really added something relevant and were masterfully interwoven with the rest. Much of what happened in the series felt in one way or another relatable and realistic and there is certainly important messages to learn about friendship and family relations.
- The characters and their actors. I had already seen Namtan in several roles and she is definitely a strong actress. She delivered her role(s) very well, whether she was crying, being fierce or caring for her friends. Distinguishing between Meen and Mind wasn’t always easy though. Krist was definitely better than what I had seen of him before, playing a seemingly indestructible nice guy with a certain underlying sadness. Sing was very convincing as well, I felt his struggles a lot; he seemed so lost sometimes that it really hurt. The adults all delivered great performances (which isn’t always the case in GMMTV productions), except for maybe the mother, she seemed a bit unnatural to me in some moments. Mr. Q was a really interesting character, his initial shadiness soon made space for a striking idealism.
- Kay. The best performance however, and I think many will agree with me on this, was clearly Kay’s. Isn’t it incredible that this is his first role? I haven’t felt that much for a fictional character in a long time (Jaylerr’s performance in “Angel Beside Me” probably came close), in these last episodes he really wrecked me emotionally. Gun’s messed-up relationship with his father, his social isolation and his determination when it came to Mind, it was all delivered perfectly; his character had definitely the most nuanced story arch and the strongest personal development and I heavily doubt that many other young actors could have done such an amazing job.
Long story short, I loved this series! It had an interesting story from the beginning, was technically well-made, could rely on an amazing cast (seriously, Kay alone was better here than the entire cast of “Blacklist” combined!), had a great variety of fascinating characters and managed to convey strong emotions through all of its main elements (story, cinematography, music, acting). I am happy to see that my enthusiasm about Kanittha Kwanyu is justified! Additionally, this series gave me more Getsunova music to get emotional to and a new YouTuber to follow (Kayavine).
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This review may contain spoilers
As a person who loved the original this version did a good job adapting this drama. This drama probably has the worse second male lead syndrome. As I try to wrap my head over why the FL picked the ML still hurts. In most dramas I could always find a reason to pick the ML over the SML but in this specific drama it's hard, for both this version and the korean version. When comparing the two versions, each one had their own strong points. I think the original will always be more satisfying and chilling. Kim Sohyun really delivered. Plus the korean ost just gives goosebumps. On the other hand, I liked Gun and Krist's interpretation of the characters more. Nam Joohyuk was a rather dull and boring character, I honestly don't remember him doing much in the drama. While Krist is also quite dull I feel like in the Thai version we get a more in-depth look into Natee's character. My absolute favorite is Gun, he did so well playing a troubled kid. Sungjae and Kay's portrayal of the character were quite different. Gun made me love his character even more. It's sad that the first person he opened up to (Mild) didn't pick him. In the perfect world, Mild would pick Gun and Natee and Mean would end up together. Gun was always there for her and they went through so much together. Gun loved Mild for Mild while Natee fell for Mild thinking she was Mean. Idc what anyone says about Natee falling for the real Mild because he loved Mean first and he continued loving Mild while thinking shes's the real Mean, Natee getting a sweet and nice Mean was just a plus for him. Gun on the other hand noticed the difference and loved only Mild. In my opinion Natee should've ended up with Mean because that's who he loved and the one who helped and gave him hope in life. In the Thai version it didn't seem like Mean liked Natee but in the original you can't deny that Eunbyul did have feelings for Yian. Overall, I still prefer the korean version but I admit the Thai isn't that bad.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is a remake of the Korean drama, but I haven't watched the Korean version. On its own, the Thai version is good.Namtan is convincing as the twin sisters with different personalities, Meen and Mind. The rest of the cast is really good too, especially Jamie as Kat in a supporting role. Krist is good as Natee though one may wish that Natee were a more multi-dimensional character.
I'm not sure how much credit goes to the original Korean scriptwriters, but the story is interesting. The plot about Mind as a badly bullied girl losing her memory and being taken as Meen is complemented with a suspenseful subplot about the death of a girl called June (Meen's friend).
The series seems to be targeted at teenagers and surfaces a lot of issues confronting teenagers, from school bullying to parental expectations and stress over grades. This series contains some of the most astonishingly terrible examples of parents I have seen (particularly the parents of the bully, Tida). In fact, for a large part of the series, Natee's father and Meen's mother are the only truly good parents. Ironically, Meen's mother does not even have any biological children of her own and she is a better mother than those who have given birth to their own children.
It is not very convincing when most of the parents (e.g. Pete's mother and Gun's parents) become better quite suddenly, and there seems to be an excessive eagerness to send a positive message in the last episode. This undercuts the seriousness of the problems in society, such as the bullying of an orphaned girl to the point where she attempts suicide. However, this doesn't affect the show much.
I believe the weaknesses of the original Korean series are present here as well. The depiction of Gun seems a little formulaic (the second-male-lead syndrome strikes). Kay has performed the role of Gun well, but Gun doesn't seem to contribute much to advancing the plot (especially in the later part of the series) and appears to be merely there so that the female lead has not one but two ridiculously wonderful guys as suitors.
While the plot and acting are good, there could perhaps be more distinctions between the Korean series and the remake. From the comments I have read, the changes are minimal. Working towards a different ending would have been interesting. For someone like me who has never watched the Korean version and don't intend to, however, this is still an engaging series.
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At first I was not sold on the cast. I loved Namtan as Mind, but could not get into her acting as Mean. Luckily, I got on board in later episodes. I also felt like Krist is a bit too old to play a high schooler, but again, got used to him as I watched more episodes. They both did an amazing job in conveying all the emotions and bringing these characters to life. For sure I liked Kay and his portrayal of Gun more than Sungjae’s performance. Jan did a stunning job as Tida. I hated her quite a lot, but still felt slightly bad when things started going against her wishes.
I think the only problem I had with this version was that I did not care about the romance at all. I much rather watch the friendship blooming and skip any romance altogether. While the guys looked truly in love with Mind, I could not feel the same emotions from her. I saw she liked them and felt a lot of gratitude towards them, but the romantic feeling was not there for me.
The plot is for sure intriguing, but not exactly on the realistic side. Did it bother me? No. It was cohesive and exciting. I can imagine how nerve wracking it must be for someone who has not seen the Korean version. The anxiety that keeps one on the edge of the seat every time Mind almost gets caught. I almost wished I had never seen the Korean version to appreciate this one more.
The leading premise of the show is clearly - bullying is wrong. That said, I appreciate how many times the “kids/teenagers” made exactly the same mistakes, judged each other before even trying to find out the truth, called each other names and blamed each other without proof. It made the message more realistic. Many young people claim they would never partake in bullying, but they are… They just think their reasons for it are valid and the person deserves it. It’s not easy to change and it’s not easy to see faults in your own actions.
Overall, I would for sure recommend this over the Korean version. It's produced with less over the top style and is more grounded in reality. The characters are more likable too. The only thing that drove me mad were these long af bangs Mind/Mean had. Poor girl, my eyes hurt every time I looked at her.
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P'Fon(Kanittha Kwanyu) has delivered another emotional series anchored in deep realism
Story:The plot was cohesive and grounded and deals with themes revolving around teenagers. Although the whole twins part was definitely touchy in many ways, the series succeeded in portraying a lot of contemporary issues that teens face. A lot of I thought would be plot holes were justified so that's great. It ended on a very positive note, which I needed due to this series being very emotionally taxing. Plot threads were unraveled and tied beautifully. The dialogues were nothing short of perfect. However, I think a little bit of development was cut short. I hope they made some scenes shorter to make up for that.
Cast:
I cannot stress how perfect the cast for this is. I think it's also with P'Fon's directing that a lot of the actors could really portray the right emotions, even with just their eyes or voice or body language. Emotion is definitely the one thing the director really nails, as I've seen with A Gift to the People You Hate and Happy Birthday. I'll go through everyone now.
Namtan Tipnaree as Meen/Mind- As I'm writing this, it was her birthday yesterday. I've seen her before in My Dear Loser, Puppy Honey 2, A Gift to the People You Hate, Wolf, and Love Beyond Frontier. I never thought she has this very easy-to-read emotional side. I think it was partly due to the framing of her face too, that the audience can marvel at her eyes. I'm not just referring to her crying scenes either, but when she stands up to Tida as Mind, she really portrays the character's trauma and fear beautifully. It was like in My Dear Loser: Edge of 17 when Nanon's character stood up to Plustor's, "I'm still weak, but I won't back down." It was definitely a different feeling than when Meen stands up to Tida, which was anger and roughness. Her interactions with herself as the twins was great, that was some excellent cinematography, editing, and script coordination. Her romantic interests were really two competent guys. I do agree that maybe what she feels towards Natee is just deep gratitude as she does towards Gun, but they all only got to a hug, deep conversations, and arm on her shoulder/hand-holding while skipping class so I think she's still clearing stuff up. A lot of her crying scenes were really amazing and I would love to see more of her. The contrast in portraying Meen and Mind really shows her skill.
Krist Perawat as Natee- Krist Perawat has delivered yet again another great performance. I would love to see some improvement from him though, because I think he wasn't really that challenged, even with this role. Don't get me wrong, he played Natee correctly, if that makes sense, I guess I wasn't that into him. He played the role well though.
Jan Ployshompoo as Tida- I love that at the end Tida was humanized. If I remember correctly, she performs very well in class, goes to a review center, and that really just makes her another version of Pete, just more twisted due to her mom sort of spoiling her and her dad's ideology of being on top. She really got on my nerves around the first half of the series, but then slowly she reached this "psycho" level of actions i.e. actions that would do herself more harm than good just to humiliate Mind or show everyone that Meen is actually Mind, which made me wonder what made her that way. Needless to say, I was satisfied by Jan's acting, even at the end, in despair and remorse, her acting was beautiful. She really impressed me in this one because I've seen her in Sotus, Happy Birthday, One Night Steal, YOUniverse, and this is a really big step for her I feel.
Kay Lertsittichai as Gun- This was a larger step, and it was such a really big risk it seems, to cast such a newcomer in such a big main role. It really paid off. In some moments where Kay was supposed to portray more emotions I guess, he resorts to the blank slate smiley Gun, but I guess it's still in character. His scenes with his dad, his mom, confessing to Mind about his love and also about his personal life, and with Mr. Q were his best scenes. I hope Kay gets more projects since this series really proved him to be capable.
Ciize Apichaya as Lyla- She also impressed me a lot! Especially in her interactions with Pete about very smart people and people that aren't smart. Her scene where it's all too much for her in the car was executed and built up to well.
Jamie Jutthapich as Kat- She isn't really a new face, but it's weird that she hasn't gotten a lot of attention. Her characterhad her ups and downs and the moment of triumph during her audition really gave me a big sense of relief and elation for her character. I want to see this actress more in different roles.
Sing Harit- Warning: I kinda have a crush on Sing Harit and has been ranting for a long time about him not having a really intense, emotional role, and now, I have been satisfied. Pete was such an unforgettable character to me. I think he played a character that speaks to many about the inner struggles of those teens who get pressured by their parents or really needs proper parenting/love or just wants everything to end but are still holding on because of their good mindsets. I think self-destruction of teens has been portrayed a lot in media, now it's time for characters like Pete. Yes, suicidal, self-harming, etc etc teens exist, but I think more teens are like Pete's character, who really wants to set things right for everyone's sake. And now that Sing Harit has an adequately emotional role, stop making him the icebreaker please. Even though I love him as that, I would love to see his growth.
Max Jenmana as Mr, Q- Mr. Q really reminded me of the great teachers I had that have come and gone. The goodbye might not be that emotional, but my friends and I did have messages of appreciation written. I would say his acting is excellent and he portrays this really great confidante character.
The parents- Um Apasiri is such a great parent like she's always the parent of a lot of troubled children in a lot of series, and this is yet another great performance from her. Natee's dad was great(him in Happy Birthday and A Gift to the People You Hate really showed his skill, this is a not too heavy role for him), Meen/Mind's adoptive mom had an awesome performance, all the other parents just nailed it too.
Guest appearances:
Puimek as Koykaew was another great performance. June as June was great too.
Music:
a. Intro- A lot of people found the intro iconic, I think. To me, it was really catchy and helps build up your feelings for what's to come in every episode. That and it's combined with visuals of the main characters and significant plot points.
b. Getsunova's forget to forget- I didn't find this particularly excellent. However, the song really grew on me. As it's used in the series more and more, I found myself liking it more.
c. Aye's อยากถูกมองด้วยแววตาแบบนั้น- I was really into this. I think Aye's voice is very angelic and is really great with this type of songs--holding a lot of emotion, I think. I loved her cover of Chocolate Kit's Jum Chun Dai Rue Bplao which was the OST of Happy Birthday. I found the piano(I think?) track of this being played in a lot of scenes, and it is really great at evoking emotions.
d. Getsunova's คนเดิมที่ไม่เหมือนเดิม- I really loved this song. I think it was really catchy, and its MV was great. I think they should've released this song sooner though.
All in all, I found myself humming the osts a lot, so I took the time to learn the actual lyrics. I don't know if you'll find them great, but I guess once it holds the sentiment from the series, they'll grow on you.
I definitely see myself rewatching this in the near future, I mean while waiting for the last couple of episodes, I found myself rewatching the series multiple times. I think there are a lot to understand, unpack, and predict in every episode and the deeper you get into the story, at least I had a lot. Maybe it was just me because I watch this when it gets uploaded on youtube at 12 midnight in my country. That aside, if you really liked a certain character's arc or you liked how certain plot threads unravel, then go watch it again. It definitely won't hurt.
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Not only about school life but also family issues
First of all, I haven't watch the Korean version. So, I will review purely based on this Thai remake.I really love the acting, especially Namtan, Jan, and Kay. Namtan plays 2 characters in this series who are pretty much opposite of each other (despite being twins). It's easy for me to differentiate when she was playing Meen or Mind, only by the way they talk, their facial expressions, and their gestures are quite different even though they literally played by the same actress. As for Jan, she did an amazing job portraying Tida as the villain of the story. There were times that I want to slap Tida through the screen, as she is very cruel and heartless. For Kay, he's amazing as well. Gotta admit I still have Second Lead Syndrome for his character (Gun). He is simply charming, funny, adorable, but also has conflicts that made me feel sorry for him.
This story not only tells us about bullying and school life, but also about family issues, the relationship between parents and kids. Almost every characters, main or supporting, has family issues that has moral value.
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Ps. Para sa mga Pinoy na makakabasa nito, mga sismars wag na mag atubili pa, simulan niyo nang panuorin at panigurado ay mahuhook kayo lalo sa actingan ng the best at walang kupas na kit perawat. Huhu the best talaga ang koya mo mga mamsh, kahit anong role yata ibigay sakanya mabibigyan nya ng hustisya eh. Napakagaling na actor swear. #KristPerawatSangpotiratBestActor
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This review may contain spoilers
**EPISODE 11 REVIEW**I cried a lot on this episode, again, starting from the bus scene. I think this scene concluded Natee's confusion and denial regarding Meen and Mind, though this is not to say that he was already done processing what was in front of him and getting over his loss. Meanwhile for Mind, this scene conveyed how much she longed for Natee to accept her. Their acting was, of course, on point as usual.
Now for Pete's side story, first I like to commend Sing's versatility. I have always seen him play bubbly and often loud characters in the past but he really did well on this one! I literally jawdropped when Pete's mom slapped him. We all know that's not the right way of parenting, pressuring your kid so much to perfect things academically. His mother was literally putting the life line of her job to his son. I hope this scene would give way to her realizations about parenting. This side story gave so much depth to Pete's character. Again, this scene made me tear up lol.
Gun's confession fell between subtlety and candidness. It was such a sweet moment that made me cry again haha. I loved the lines she said to Mind---that names didn’t matter and she could be anyone she wanted when she was with him. That scriptwriting was topnotch. I felt sad for Gun when he clarified he meant to say he liked Mind platonically, not romantically. This boy was literally on his own! Aside from the MCs, Gun carried so much secrets too that he chose not to share to anyone.
As much as bullying is horrendous in any form, seeing Tida being bullied back was poetic justice. It was so satisfying to watch her have no one to back her up, knowing how horrible she had been as a person.
Ok now, I have seen a lot of comments about people liking Gun better than Natee. First of all, both of them have their own struggles, personality, and depth. They are equally complex and interesting characters. For the people saying Natee is boring and they prefer Gun as the main lead and whatnots, just from the present timeframe, Natee has been through a lot. He literally lost his best friend and found out about his best friend's twin sister which the whole time he thought was still Meen; he was supporting his father financially through swimming; he got hit by a car with his attempt to help Mind, and now could not swim due to a bone fracture---not to mention backstories. And now that we saw Meen will be back, imagine the whirlwind of emotions Natee will go through even more. From the start, I have always rooted for Natee not just as the male lead but as a mere character of the show. Moreso, when Natee asked Tida ‘who died then’ while fully knowing the story, I felt his desperation for justice. That was a rhetorical question for him but it contained his grief, anger, and desperation.
Lastly, I get why people are complaining that Mind is too weak to fight Tida back. There are also comments about how the original character was much stronger than her. I am only judging based on this show because I have not fully seen the original drama, but I understand Mind. Yeah call her a damsel in distress but people need to understand that we have different ways of coping, different pacing on healing. Mind was bullied terribly that she killed herself. She has a lot of things going on and it really takes time to heal. She's really doing a good job at facing her bully in my opinion. Actually now, it seems like her worries lie more on keeping her secrets rather than having to stand up for herself and face Tida.
Overall this episode ended on a very intense note of Meen coming back. I can't wait for episode 12!
PS: Just by seeing Namtan on the thumbnail of episode 12's teaser, I already knew it was Meen and not Mind. Namtan's acting is topnotch. And I also can't wait for the new OST to be released.
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BEST THAI ADAPTATION FROM A KDRAMA SERIES!!!
I had watched the original version "Who are you school 2015" and i love it so i had expectations of watching the thai version.So i asked myself if it is worth watching, so i tried to watch it until the end and it was worth it. The thai version is almost the same as the original but they nake it more understandable and has a HAPPY ENDING should have been im satisfied with it hehehehe. The MVP award goes to NAMTAN yes i said she did the female lead with justice and she did it perfectly executing her emotions tskkk.. I cried a lot huhuhuhu its so painful. Krist did it with efortless acting love it, and i love BGM and the OST more in the thai version than the original but both did great, the production is SUPERB HIGH QUALITY OVERALL !!!! Highly recommended to those people who love typical school romance dramas lmao purrr…Was this review helpful to you?
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This review may contain spoilers
Remake from a South Korean drama
This is one of the amazing remakes in Thai Drama industry. I first love this storyline from it's origin country which South Korean version. I loved how they add some contrast comparing to the original version of this drama. The story still went well and very awesome and I am very glad the casts did a very well job in portraying their roles in this drama. The main characters was successfully engaged to the audiences by these casts and very well introduced. From the main casts to the supporting up to guest casts everyone was really good and amazing. They were good in dwelling themselves into the characters personality.The soundtracks were nice, they invites the sympathy that the drama need and that is very amazing. I would love to rewatch them in the future, and recommend them to others who might be interested to watch Thai dramas. Overall it's very lit!
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