Fish Upon the Sky (2021)

Rough around the edges, but super fun!

I had little to no expectations going into Fish Upon the Sky, as I found the trailer and concept pretty underwhelming and cliche. On top of that, it began airing a week after Tale of a Thousand Stars, which I absolutely loved, so the bar was set pretty high in my mind at that point. Now, after having completed the series, I can say with complete certainty that, although it does not surpass TOTS in the slightest, Fish Upon the Sky is one of GMMTV's stronger series over the past few years.

I'd first like to go over what I loved about this series and then what I didn't love as much:

To start, and I'd say this is the main selling point that sets it apart from it's predecessors, Fish Upon the Sky is absolutely one of, if not, THE funniest GMMTV series I've seen. I find a lot of the delivery comedy wise in GMMTV series to be a little cringy and sometimes hard to find funny, but this series does not have that problem in the slightest. Although Pi and Mork have some really funny scenes, especially towards the beginning, the humor really shines in the "Story of a fifth-year student" scenes with Meen and Duen. Both of them have really perfect comedic timing, and the ridiculousness of their scenes are so fun to watch!

That actually leads me to my next point, which is that the side couple is so charming! I often find myself skipping side couple scenes in a lot of GMMTV series such as MilPhukong in 2gether (I'm sorry FrankDrake!!) which is, similarly to FUTS, based on a Jittirain novel. However, in FUTS, the side couple is so incredibly likable and fun to watch! Both Neo and Louis give really fun performances and have great chemistry both comedically and romantically. To be honest, and I'll touch on this later, I actually would sometimes find myself skipping scenes with the main couple just so I could get to their scenes! Their dynamic is just so refreshing and cute! Towards the beginning of the series, they reminded me a lot of PickRome from Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey, but as the series went on, they proved to be a lot less toxic and a lot more lighthearted, which I absolutely loved. I believe Louis is a new face at GMM, and I absolutely hope that he has more roles in the future because he's packing so much talent (he can sing, dance, act, he's funny, and he's just so freaking adorable!! PLEASE I"M BEGGING YOU GIVE HIM MORE ATTENTION!!!)

I think the last stand out thing I really enjoyed about this series was Phuwin's role as Pi. I think Pi was a super unique BL protagonist. His struggles were super relatable, and his snarky attitude was really fun. I also liked that he wasn't afraid to stand up for himself when he was being harassed online Phuwin really really surprised me in this role, as I was only familiar with him from The Gifted Graduation, where I found his acting a little overdone and uncomfortable at times, but here, he felt super natural and authentic, like you could know him in real life! I know he's around my age, so it's super impressive to me that he's able to do so well as he did, and I hope to see him in more roles in the future!

Alright now onto the stuff I didn't particularly enjoy:

This is definitely an unpopular opinion, but I really did not enjoy Mork for the majority of the series. I think a lot of fans were really charmed by his looks (Don't get me wrong, I was too, Pond is VERY pretty), but I think because of that, they overlooked a lot of the glaring flaws in his character. For one, he was super pushy with Pi. He kept insisting and insisting and insisting that Pi really liked him, and ignored when Pi asked him to leave him alone. Moreover, him egging on the MorkPi fanpage shippers was really not cool, especially after Pi made it VERY clear he was uncomfortable with it. I just found a lot his behavior to be reminiscent of the toxic archetypes commonly used in BL, and that just did not vibe with me, I'm sorry. I think he did have his good moments, for instance, the confession scene in episode 9, but overall, he was just way too aggressive and forward with Pi for my comfort levels. On top of that, and I really hate to say it because he seems like such a sweetheart, but I don't think Pond's acting skills were developed enough for this big of a role just yet. As far as I know, this is his second role ever after The Gifted Graduation, where he wasn't even in the actual show, but a narrative ad that played after the last few episodes, and it really shows. A lot of his line delivery fell flat to me, and his more emotional scenes didn't hit me at all like Phuwin's did. I think he has a lot of potential, and I'll definitely follow his work moving forward, but I don't think he was ready for this performance.

Another thing I didn't love was the story. Like I said, before going into FOTS, I set my expectations low because the plot was so cliche, and although I was impressed and surprised by other aspects of the show, which I touched on earlier, the plot was absolutely everything I expected, and not in a good way. The whole "ugly duckling" storyline is super played out, and paired with the original enemies to lovers dynamic MorkPi originally has, it just feels like nothing new or interesting. What's worse, in the Pi is perfectly good looking even before his whole "transformation"!! I feel like "My Dear Loser: Edge of 17" is a prime example of a well told ugly duckling story because you see the transition in both looks and personality, and how those affect the protagonist, whereas FOTS doesn't fully commit to this storyline, so it falls flat and feels unnecessary.

This is kind of similar to my last point, but this series is really hypocritical in its message, as it tries to both denounce a lot of common BL tropes while feeding into those same tropes at the same time! The whole storyline with the MorkPi shippers is a great example. Pi stands up to the shippers and defends his privacy, telling them how serious what they're doing actually is, which is fantastic, but right after, the show goes back to making the shippers seem goofy and lighthearted when, just as Pi said, what they're doing is really not a joke. The female characters, which in this show are far and few between, are either annoying, or used as a plot device to get one of the two couples closer together, which plays into the incredibly damaging BL trope of demonizing women. Bam was a really great character because she genuinely wanted Pi and Mork to get together, and then in the end out of no where, with literally ZERO foreshadowing, she sabotages them because she's apparently been secretly in love with Mork the whole time? Like wtf? There was no reason to do that with a perfectly good character just for the sake of causing drama in the last episode, especially when it was all resolved so quickly.

Finally, and this is SUPER nitpick-y, but the music in this show is so bad?? I'm not talking about the opening and ending songs which are both really beautiful and catchy, I'm talking abut the random English songs they use constantly that are laughably horrible and really distracting throughout. I know that's like not important at all, but I haven't seen anyone mentioning it so I just wanted to point it out lol.

Overall, although it's littered with overused tropes and sometimes uncomfortable acting, Fish Upon the Sky is a really fun series that deserves a lot of the love it's getting. I can't wait to see what these actors do next!

Read More

One of the cutest BLs I have ever seen!

Definitely you can't expect and Oscar-worthy series from this one but one thing for sure, I am a very easy-going person, some silly comedies would make me laugh so hard and each episode of this drama did not fail to make me laugh hence, this review is totally personal and you might have different opinion than the one I write below.

When I first saw the trailer, I did not have a high expectation on this one as it will be the same university life BL stories but I trusted that this would be an okay-ish story as it was based on JittiRain novel (author of Theory of Love and 2gether). Also, I am a diehard shipper of NeoPhuwin and when I saw Neo and Phuwin will not be a couple in this drama, my interest dropped. But, after the first episode, I got hooked, impressed and immediately had a good feeling about this one and each episode was getting better, waiting for Fridays was the most torture thing for me for the past weeks.

So what makes me like this series so much (it will be endless but I make it short):
1) The directing. What makes this series so good is the ability of the director to make the comedy part "laughable". If you think the series is just a silly BL story for teenagers, it is not. It is full with good messages and were conveyed in a fun and comedic way. The directing managed to set the tone of the series so well, also they tried to make Duean and Meen story as separated story and it did not feel weird to me.
2) The acting. There are some experienced and new actors, but their acting was good and they don't really look like they just get out from the acting class.
3) OST and background music were awesome, so perfectly placed in the series and both Louis and Mix songs had been on my playlist and on repeat for many weeks already.
4) The small little effort to make Pi's and Duean's room to look like a real living person room, not just for the sake of the series! (LOL, I know).

What are the things that I wish it could be improved:
1) I would love to see more interactions and dynamics of Pi and Duean family. I love every moment of the parents, and the three brothers. They had an interesting chemistry and characters, I wish to see they explore more into the stories of the family, their reactions to accept the couple of Pi, Duean and Wan (by the way in Thai Pi means year, Duean means month and Wan means day, LOL) and also the closeness of three brothers. The family adds flavour to this series.

2) I wish Bam (Janhae) character was a male. Look, don't get me wrong, I love Janhae, she's a great actress especially in Who Are You (LOL!) and I know love is genderless. But I get tired to see a female character to make someone else jealous in BL series. Mork loves Pi and tried so hard to win Pi's heart, we know Mork has interest in men (arguable, yes) so it would make a perfect sense if Mork has a male friend or ex boyfriend to make Pi jealous. I also don't want to see another "I don't like men, I only like you" so if Bam character was a male, then my heart will be at peace, at least.

This series has all the cliché things you have seen in other BL series but as Gun Attaphan said in Theory of Love, "it is not cliché, it is called classic". The clichés, "stupidity", illogical and craziness of the stories what made this series so cute and good in so many ways. You can see the Genres and Tags of this series in the descriptions and if you can't handle those then it might not be your cup of tea. "Comedy" is the first genre listed, well you can argue a good and bad comedy, not everyone will laugh at the comedy part of this series but this is the first BL comedy for me that really did not fail me from the get-go.

In conclusion, if you're still thinking to watch or not, give it a try, it is worth it. If this series was aired last year during worldwide lockdown, I'm sure it will become a hit just like 2gether. So yeah, that was a cue for you to start watching this golden series. Enjoy!

Read More

It was a fun ride, but...

Another airing drama that I followed ending! Honestly, I have mixed feelings with this one, so I feel like this gonna be a lengthy review lol so bear with me :)

What I love:
–Pi, I love Pi's character as a whole. Honestly, I would say I love him as much as I love Tian from ATOTS if not less. Him, his insecurities, his weakness, his determination, I love how he is flawed and it made him such a complex character, and he feels real. His story was so sad if we actually think about it, and every action he made honestly really understandable considering how hard it has been for him all these while. (and honestly? the portrayal of him as someone ugly before he change is just BS lol, he is pretty from the beginning!)
–Nan!! Of course I'm gonna mention the character that made me start this from the beginning. I understand why Pi was so attracted to him, hes like all the good things in this world put in a person. I wish he wouldve had more screen time (which he couldve had if this series didnt give so much screentime for the loud annoying shippers lol) because most of his scene was wise and just calming to watch lol
–Duean & Meen! Honestly, I love them to the coreeee omg I never feel THIS much love for a 2nd couple but their scene never fails to made my day, and honestly i find their final confession scene more adorable than the main couple! I'm gonna miss Duean's lack of braincell and Meen's bubbly personality so badly

What I dislike:
–Lemme just drop the bomb and say, I dont like Mork :D Well hear me out, I dont HATE him, just a lil dislike towards some of his action on Pi, especially when he kinda force himself to Pi and almost not respecting Pi's space. Honestly, even in ep 11 when he said he respect Pi's decision to keep their relationship a secret, yet his action shows otherwise lol! He also didnt know how to keep his boundary when crushing on Pi and truth be told, I feel like Pi deserve someone better lol BUT he actually came thru for the last bit especially on the final confession scene so okay yeah he is acceptable or whatev lol
–For the nnth time, i freaking HATE the shippers, theyre straight up a creepy obsessive stalker who didnt know how to keep their nose away from others' business! Like do these folks dont have a life??? They didnt even respect Pi's privacy! Pi was literally scared shitless knowing they wanted to take photo of his house like thats just too much!
–That fake girlfriend character i forgot her name but all of her scenes cringe me to the core and honestly i wasnt even surprised when it turns out she was the one who revealed Pi's photos, she was sus from the start
–The pacing in this series is way too off! The first part feels like it can actually be sum up in less than 9 eps, then everything happened so fast after that which I feel couldve been lengthen into few more episodes instead. The pacing was slow at first and then BAM BAM so much thing happenend towards the end, you know what I mean? lol

LMAO i knew this gonna be lengthy at the dislike part ? But nevertheless, it ends! I especially love the part after the two years past, its adorable seeing how Pi suddenly become clingy after Mork is no longer by his side all the time lol, I feel like I will remember how complex and unique Pi's character is for awhile, gonna miss him and Duean Meen now

7.2/10

Read More

Such a cheesy disaster that it's endearing

In totality, it was okay. Definitely loved Duean and Meen more than anything else. It was cheesy full of stupid plot devices that you learn to deal with it

1. Mork was a stalker. A glamorized one, but a stalker nonetheless
2. The whole Bam plot twist is such a classic GMMTV thing to do. A FEMALE has to come out from NOWHERE to produce conflict. Of freaking course
3. Instead of the ep 11 curse, GMMTV decided to be edgy and made the conflict in ep 12. It made everything feel rushed when literally they had 11 episodes of nothingness
4. I hate how manipulative Mork was to Pi in terms of forcing Pi to come out with their relationship.

All of these things are so cliche and are so bad, but I guess I'm so used to dramaland that at this point, the predictability is what sold it for me.

Also, Pond is so freaking gorgeous.

Read More

It simply doesn't make a lot of sense

My rating might be a bit harsh but this was honestly difficult for me to sit through. I watched A Tale of a Thousand Stars when it aired and got used to curling up on a Friday evening and just enjoying the episodes as they aired each week. To be honest my entire reason for watching this series, along with the fact that I liked the trailer, was that its airtime was the same and, although I doubted I would enjoy it as much as AToaTS, I kind of wanted to keep the routine.

But, well, it was a struggle.

Let's start with the story. It's not good. At first I liked the story of an insecure, unpopular kid who doesn't trust easily being liked by a popular guy who also happens to be his crush's best friend. I liked that there wasn't a love triangle but Pi believed there was. I really did like the set-up of Mork liking Pi when Pi didn't like himself and assumed this was a universal reality, no one would ever like him. But why does Mork like Pi? Like why? I enjoyed their online friendship for a while until I realised that Pi is just depending on Mork, it is not two-sided. Ultimately throughout the whole series Pi is never there for Mork really and Mork is constantly there for Pi. It is an unequal relationship, not because of appearance or popularity, but because Mork is in love with an insecure and (more to the point) extremely selfish character. It doesn't make sense. Everything in their development happens suddenly and coincidentally. There is no evolution, neither character comes to realisations about themselves or each other that would make their relationship reasonable. Mork never shows any vulnerability to Pi, Pi shows too much and relies too heavily on Mork without good reason. It is not a believable relationship progression and their attraction is not developed in the script. Why? Do? They? Like? Each? Other? It does not make sense.

As for the second-lead couple the progression was better. They grew on each other and it made sense that they were getting to know each other and were feeling attraction or crushes or whatever. But god it was juevenile. It was trying so hard to be funny with them, especially Duean. I don't know if this is just a cultural difference but I have seen a lot of Thai content and while some of the humour goes over my head sometimes this is just a lot to take. Although the majority of the age demographic of BL fans may be young, the character himself was in his twenties and he was behaving like a pre-teen which was so annoying. The characters themselves matched okay I guess, I have some complaints but whatever. But it was so juevenile which did get seriously irritating.

The acting was variable. Because I didn't like most of the script I will say the acting may have been better with a better script but here we go. Pond (Mork) and Louis (Meen) had believable acting. Their acting was fine. They did a good enough job with characters that were written to be pretty one dimensional. Phuwin (Pi) is not made for acting insecure in my opinion tbh. He kept overacting the insecurities and shyness. Now, I am a naturally shy person and was incredibly insecure as a teen so there was some relatability for me honestly. But when you are shy and insecure, you hide. You try to take up as little space as possible. He sort of had the shy persona down sometimes but other times it was just overdone. I could tell he was acting. And in some intimate scenes between Mork and Pi both actors were awkward which added to the already mediocre script in terms of being unbelievable. As for Neo (Duean) it was overacting 101. I don't know if this was due to his acting, the script, the directing or whatever but it was too much. Just way too much. It was a character you would never meet in real life. So yeah.

I don't love that a makeover happened, but I do like the fact that Mork liked Pi before. Wasn't like he had some dumb realisation later or anything.

I wish I enjoyed this. It really could have been good. But it was too nonsensical to be funny and too soulless to be romantic. The characters were largely too one dimensional to be believable and everything fell apart after that really. The plot wasn't character driven it just sort of happened because someone said it should, which is not good writing.

One other (relatively small) pet peeve is the fact that three brothers from one family are all gay. Like, why? C'mon now people. Not saying it's impossible but it's just a little hard to believe. Especially when added to the fact that the two younger brothers both have love interests who are themselves brothers with each other. Okay, whatever.

The fans were annoying and overacted. They were not funny. They were toxic but there was no analysis of why they are being toxic and there was no arc where that behaviour changes (which it should and would have been satisfying to watch).

At the end of the day I would not recommend this series to be very frank. There are far better series out there. This one is an acceptable idea with poor execution.

Read More

Foundational Romance Tropes? Rivals(eh) to Lovers with a sunshine/tsundere pairing

Pi is the ultimate obtuse tsundere uke who never gets redeemed so you have to be okay with an unlikeable protag to enjoy Fish. For me, Pi was unappealing and I couldn’t understand why Mork wanted him so badly. The temptation is to compare this to We Best Love, because it’s such a similar tsundere + pining sunshine pairing. But Shu Yi was given so much more grace by the Taiwanese writers. Pi is a jerk, he’s never depict being kind or genuine with his friends or strangers. He’s a loser sure, but worse, he’s a user. Unfortunately it turns out, so is Mork. Because a seme with an uke like this will keep pushing and pushing until he gets what he wants - a complete override of the uke’s feelings. So Mork comes off as a bully and Pi as utterly unlikeable and in the end what could have been great with these actors and GMMTV’s money was just a big ol’ bummer.

GMMTV do we need to have a talk? First you flopped My Gear and Your Gown, then you failed the landing on Tonhon Chonlatee, now this? What’s going on with your writing team? Do you HAVE a writing team?

Read More

Could have been so much more

What this series does well is balance two love stories and the central focus. Unlike many other Thai BLs that opt for a multitude of couples this series has only two and explores them well. Visually, this series was amazing to watch and look at. It’s beautiful and well produced.

However, this isn’t the best writing in the slightest. This series takes a LONG time to develop the relationship with the main couple and the entire time, the pining is more stalker-like than romantic. Additionally, this series takes too long to do what it sets out to do, and by the time it actually does it, we’ve already reached the end and so everything feels rushed and unearned. As a comedy, it should have ended at episode 11 with a nice wrap-up. But for some reason they decided to make the last episode into a drama filled with tension and the tone shifts into completely new territory with only less than an hour before everything comes to an end. Talk about whiplash!

Furthermore, there is a great support cast, but the writers use these cast members insufficiently to the point that their presence becomes more of a nuisance than part of the actual plot movement. The only character who is developed is Pi and he’s the only well written character, other than Duean. Otherwise, we know virtually nothing about anyone else. Shame.

Also, what’s up with that really weird English song that came up at the weirdest times?

Read More

ONE OF THE BEST ROM-COM BL!

I really love this series, it's one of the best! I like how light-hearted, innocent and funny this show like every episode I laughed so hard and feel the romantic excitement with the two. For me, it's the perfect stress reliever when you're burned out and love to watch bl. We need this in this trying times. The actors were so great and their visual are so freaking out of this world. The scene of every episode has a lot of originality, and especially the OST! So magical, Mix and Louis who act as Muang Nan and Meen are really a good singer. The editing and directing is on point. No heavy plot, just a typical drama, but they carried it in a wonderful way! The plot is so good and relateable. The kiss was so natural and also there were so many lessons to learn which is appliable in this modern world like having a confidence with yourself and respecting others privacy. Also, I love how they portrayed the magic of love that no matter how you feel bad about yourself, there is always someone who will gonna love you and accept for who you are and there's someone who will look at you like Fish Upon The Sky. It's cheesy and chaotic, but not gonna lie, this series gives me a 90s Rom-Com vibe. It's refreshing and gives the feeling of being young and in love like I want to fall in love again. If you haven't watch it yet, well I recommend this to you. IT'S WORTH IT! I don't care what people say, but this series was so great and I can't get over from it. Not gonna spoil anymore! Love youu!

~ THESE ARE SOME GREAT LINES THAT I LOVE FROM FISH UPON THE SKY ~

"Don't afraid I'd feel bad if they criticize me. Be selfish all you want because I'm so damn happy when I'm with you. Those people don't make me happy like the one I love does." - Mork

"When you love someone, you like who they truly are. When you love someone, you love what lies inside." - Pi

"If you really like me, your heart should beat faster. I believe you used to like me, but I think you're scared. You're scared of falling for someone else." - Muang Nan

"Apart from risk of having hypertension, you have one more risk, a heart disease. Not a common, it only happen when you're close to someone you love" - Mork

"If you are not ready to open your heart, we can start by being friends." - Mork

"You see that flowers? If you want to own them, that means you're obsessed with them. But if you want to take care and let them grow, that means you love them." - Mork

"You want to be yourself, I want to be myself too." - Meen

"I can be you vaccine, Pi" - Mork (thiss mann!? can you also be my vaccine mork? HUHU)

"I'm okay whether you want to tell people or not. But I just want to love you. I want to love you without caring what people think. The kind of love that I can hug you when I miss you. Kiss you when I'm tired. Hold your hand without caring about the world." - Mork

Read More

This Fish Did Not Take Flight

My first thoughts going into this was that this series seemed cute, but probably won't take itself too seriously. Especially not with the brother character (Duean). I was definitely correct with this, however when the series tried to have serious parts in it that's where it fell flat. I couldn't take it seriously AT ALL, which is a problem because the show could've really done with that balance.

When concerning the comedy.The overhead voice of god or whatever tf it was is hilarious to me. So were the interactions between this disembodied voice and Duean. That was gold. However, much of Duean's solo comedic stuff wasn't really for me. I don't do gross out humor, some of his stuff was decent though.

When talking about our characters. First off, how would people think Pi is a nerd? He's too cute looking to be ostracized lol. So when he has his "glow up" I didn't see much difference tbh. I understood his insecurities though because we all deal with that. Eventually though his character got real old real quick. Like I couldn't handle him anymore. Mork is so nice to him and handsome! I hate that Pi is so mean to him at the beginning and pretty much all throughout the damn show. Boy take your wins, this dude is actually kind to you/likes you for who you are and you're lashing out. There's been no evidence he likes who you like from the start. Cut the crap! By the end I didn't really care about him or saw much development. So that was a bummer. Duean and Meen were alright. Cute moments but didn't do much for me personally.

I'm glad dude who plays Mueang is back from 1000 stars! He could've been utilized way more though, like apparently he is in the book. I would've liked to see him get a love interest or something. I like that Pi is talking to Mork and not even realizing it. I liked the equal development of each brother, screen ratio difference is nice for distinction. We love the calling out on toxic shipping irl they are so annoying but they're supposed to be. Though I would've liked to see them get more consequences for their actions. Missed opportunity. One thing that I took 100% issue with was the cultural appropriation moment. Like why? Why was that necessary? A lot of people in the comments on YouTube felt the same who are actually from that minority so the show totally messed up on that one.

Other things that were off was the pacing. It was slowwwwww and with very little payoff. Like there was so much unnecessary sh** that wasn't at least entertaining enough to keep me focused. I feel like this show had something at the beginning, but took too long to take off and once it finally did it was over. So watch this if you're really in need of a BL, but there's much better out there. I actually really wanna see Mork's actor again soon. I quite like him so here's to hoping!

Read More

Fun and Dumb

Fish Upon the Sky is a comedic drama that is definitely not meant to be taken seriously.

For all its strengths (comedy, great actors, an OST that slaps) futs falls short on one crucial aspect of storytelling which is, well, the story itself. The main couples' relationship is sloppily told and emotionally concerning at times. The pacing of their storyline is horrendous and leaves many issues unresolved until the very end. It also feels at times as if the writers weren't quite sure what the cause of their conflicts were as explanations tended to change throughout different episodes. In terms of storytelling, futs is a hot hot mess.

So, why is it still getting a 6.5 from me? Well, it's genuinely so funny and endearing. The side pairing of Duean and Meen was handled incredibly well, especially in comparison to the many things Mork and Pi were put through. I laughed until I cried so often while watching this show. I went into it wanting something light and funny and, for the most part, that's exactly what I got. Many things didn't make sense and this show had such potential to have a phenomenal story but I cannot deny that I enjoyed myself every single episode.

If you are looking to have a lot of fun, see one of the best sibling relationships I've seen on a drama in a while, and aren't looking for a cinematic masterpiece, this show might be for you. For all its faults I don't regret any time I've spent watching it. Thank you for the laughs futs, I'm wholeheartedly looking forward to a season 2.

Read More

The trailer had me so hopeful

This turned out to be a four-episode series stretched to twelve, with a second couple that was excruciating to watch and utterly unbelievable as a romantic pairing.

The director should be scolded for making Neo come off like a terrible, scene-chewing actor who shouts his lines. If I was Neo's manager I'd be immediately searching hard for another role that will allow him to truly showcase his talent. His performance here was a disaster.

Right around the midpoint my level of interest in the series dropped significantly and I started to forget that new episodes would be airing. It got to where YouTube would serve them up and I'd be like "Oh yeah ... that's still going." Then I'd put off watching until I'd consumed everything else that had come out that week.

The last few episodes took me multiple days to watch because they could only keep me engaged for 15 minutes at a time. FUTS had become a borderline hate-watch.

For me the high point was the episode where Pond was hiding out in Pi's house, trying to avoid detection by Duean. That was comedy gold. So many other shows try to pull off a sequence like that and fail, but this one nailed it.

I also appreciated the episode where the insecurity that Pi had built up over many years had realistic consequences, making it hard for him to accept that anyone could really care for him. While we all love Mix, Pi's relentless pursuit of Mueang Nan in the early episodes rang false. Somebody who felt as bad about himself as Pi did would never have had the courage to keep going after a guy like Mueang Nan time after time -- and even continue after being gently rebuffed.

Speaking of Mix, another high point was his OST song.

Pond is a discovery. His role made him into a borderline stalker, but wow, his visuals are way up there and he clearly has the acting chops. He's going to go on to to great things.

Phuwin also did well, but it was another case of the wardrobe department thinking that if you make a character wear glasses along with messy hair and braces, you can pass them off as homely. I realize that this is a constant tactic in Asian series but really, asking the audience to accept that kind of thing only drives home how much of a fictional universe you're creating. You can't disguise cuteness of that caliber.

For me FUTS goes into the same pile as "2gether" and "The Shipper" -- a series with a big budget that I couldn't wait to debut, that ended up being even more of a disappointment because of how bad it was.

6/10. And I think that's being generous. ^_^

Read More

Flawed, but with some fun moments

A Tale of a Thousand Stars would be a tough act to follow for any series. Fish Upon the Sky was given the challenge. Did it rise to the occasion? Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

ATTENTION TO BULLYING. Always important to bring attention to bullying. While some of the attempts fell a bit flat (see below), kudos to FUTS for addressing this issue.

DUEAN/MEEN. Probably not a popular opinion but, for me, they were more fun and had a better chemistry than the main couple.

COMEDY. I really enjoyed some of the comedic moments: Pi hiding Mork in his bed all night (the nipple tickle and Pi's erotic response was hilarious!), much of Duean's loud, aggressive attitude bordered on unappealingly obnoxious, but the character had a sweet side that, for me, made up for it. I LOVED sexy Meen (in Duean's dream)! And Bam's over the top fawning over Mork was funny.

MIX. It was nice to see Mix in a supporting role, even if the scope of his talent was wasted in it.

EYE CANDY. It was a cute cast, which rarely hurts anything.

CONS

"UGLY" PI. If they really wanted to make an impact, the producers should have uglied Pi up more. They could have made his eyebrows hairier and messier, given him an orthodontic headgear with a big metal piece going around the outside of his mouth, dressed him in uglier clothes, dorkier glasses. As it was, he looked like a cute guy with a fit body who had nice glasses and wore braces. Totally unconvincing.

THE BULLIES. In the finale, are we really supposed to believe that an ENTIRE ROOM of MorkPi shippers are going to see old pics of Pi in glasses and braces and suddenly turn against Pi and bully him? Not one person is going to say "Excuse me? He's adorable even with glasses and braces!" Sorry, not buying that the majority of people at a university would behave that way. Second graders, maybe.

MORK'S PERSISTENCE. Sure, he's handsome. But his unrelentless stalking of Pi was too much and not cool. But hey, he's cute so it's all okay, right? Most people would have gone to the police to issue a restaining order!

KITTY GANG IN SIKH CLOTHING. A controversial move. Some people had no problem with it, others found it offensive. Whatever... the bottom line is that it just wasn't funny.

BAM TURNING INTO A VILLAINESS. Unnecessary and ruined a perfectly good character. Then, we're supposed to believe she got over her "deep love" for Mork minutes later, as soon as another guy hits on her. Yeah... sure.

It's a 6.5 from me.

Read More