Enchanté (2022)

award worthy... if there is an award for the most immature main character

i'm gonna start with the good. (it won't be too long.)
it's an overall interesting concept for a story and if you like the childhood friends to lovers trope, you might enjoy this one, because it does has some fluffy moments and up until the last episodes you can actually root for them to get together. i loved the mutual pining too, i am a sucker for that.
although it is expected from 2022 bls, the quality is good, the actors look cute, i loved the outfits and the music is... well, boring, but isn't bad. typical bl music, nothing really special.

now the bad.
oh, there is a lot of bad.

what started as a good and interesting story became monotonous and frustrating really fast. it kind of reminded me of those reverse harem anime series, just... worse. the characters had the potential to be very well-written and interesting, but for some reason every one of them with the maybe-exception of Saifa annoyed the hell out of me.

and why is that?

well, it wasn't even really the characters. it was the fact that Theo's search for his 'Enchante' seemed really pointless. We all knew he was gonna end up with Akk, of course, but that wouldn't have been a problem if they at least made Theo slightly more empathetic towards the men who he knew only pretended to be Enchante. I mean, I would have been pretty curious to find out their motives in his place.
and even after we did get to know what said motives were, there were no problems solved. maybe for Saifa, but Wayo for example deserved a better ending. hell, deserved an ending in general because he got one not very satisfying scene and that was all.

the acting was... well, it was acting. it was obliviously acting. I don't think it was bad, but not good either. sometimes they said the lines as if they were reading them, and the scenes were Book and Force had to actually act as a couple were at time painful to watch. Force was... ok, I guess, just the usual bl acting, but I think Akk's character was more consistent in general and maybe a bit easier to understand what he was expected to do as that character.
Book's acting was a bit worse in my opinion. He either seemed emotionless or way too emotional. had the feel of watching a high school play. But then again, can I blame him? Theo was a horrible character to act as:

Theo is the worst protagonist I've seen in a long time. His only personality traits were having lived in France for a while and being selfish. Lol. and one of these isn't qualified as an actual personality trait.
First of all, the Enchante thing was the stupidest idea I've ever heard. honestly, what was he expecting? and then he went with it for a quite a long while despite seeing how much chaos it caused. ok, he didn't care about the others, but to deceive Akk so badly just because he was a coward to confess to him left a bitter taste in my mouth.
and then that bitterness increased by a 100:
towards the last episodes, it was revealed that Akk knew something that he didn't tell Theo and Theo got very mad at him for it.
but was it justified? not at all. Akk had nothing to do with said thing, he was only a witness to it, and if he'd told Theo, from what we've seen from him, Theo would have probably gotten even more mad at him. Akk, as always, wanted the best for him by not saying anything, because it really, I mean really wasn't his business to tell. but Theo ignored it.
Listen, I get that he was upset, I know that it is a very tragic event, but a twenty-something man to be this immature about it... if he was in high school I'd say it's understandable but as an adult college student... I mean, wow. Something that would've been touching and should've made the viewers sad only made me cringe and want to shake some sense into Theo.

Akk was a lovely character. It might be because I find Force very attractive in general but I freaking loved him. Honestly though, he deserved better. He was so nice and helpful and kind just to get nothing from it back. I don't like love triangles, in fact I hate them with a burning passion, but by the end of the series I was borderline wishing that there was another man he could fall in love with instead and dump Theo. no seriously, I need a ripoff where he leaves Theo and finds a guy who actually deserves him.

with that said.... I actually enjoyed it. I mean, yeah, it wasn't great, but it was still entertaining in a way. I can't even explain why I liked it, but I did, at least enough to finish it. it was probably the fact that I have a big fat crush on Akk (and Force), and seems like that was enough for me. If he was played by someone else, I probably wouldn't have finished it, but oh well, looks like an attractive actor is a good way to win me over. if you don't find him really hot though, I don't know if it's worth watching or not. maybe if you're obsessed with the friends to lovers trope and feel like you need to consume every bl based on it or else you can't live your life fully.

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It wasn't necessarily ENCHANTING......

Um, so okay with this drama I felt this was a bunch of cliches. Cliches like trust issues (Theo for being rich and people wanted to get him because of that), long lost and found love between two childhood friends (apparently Akk only had feelings for Theo that time) and many more. Enchanté's plot must have not been overcomplicated because damn the plot is so straightforward; finding the Enchanté giving replies through the book. Honestly I predicted it to be Akk because there's no way it's just any other guy there because it's just 10 eps I don't really think if it was another guy, 10 eps is not enough. It was like this is a plot which is predictable that could go: The male lead was the mysterious Enchanté or a guy from the four self-proclaimed Enchantés which will be a rival for Akk. It turned out Enchanté was really Akk all along and once the revelation unfold I thought the series is redundant. Like there it is, nothing more the journey ends right here.

I disliked how GMMTV dragged the last few eps like showing Jimmy's character in the final two eps as a potential rival for Force (Akk) and the sudden revelation about Theo's parents separating. It just like a sudden heavy rainfall ravaged a whole village in a summer sunny day. It's just like the series lost my interest gradually when those problems showed up and when Theo returned to France (I think).

I thought this was also a rushed BL put out by GMMTV just to give a BL but nah it's unnecessary to rush the drama like that. Rushed things propels to failure, that's true. I also think the four guys claiming to be Enchanté were not necessarily added up much tension to the drama but the side stories they had gave me thoughts why these guys claimed to be Enchanté for reasons which are unjustified. I really like that not just like they put characters in there presenting to be like obstacles towards the main leads and nothing more. The saving grace towards them were their side stories as what I said earlier.

The OSTs were beautiful especially Enchanté by Tawan, really beautiful. The cast were good, it's just the setup of the plot of this drama that really like dragged the whole series down especially the director(s) and the producers who worked in this drama. The ending is fine to me but I think with much more time this series would have been amazing. If it's adapted from a book, I mean the plot towards the ending was based from the book, I don't think that was a good book to turn into a series just saying.

Hey! this series is pretty entertaining and Force takes the cake as my favorite actor here as well his character. Overall this was a good watch.

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A very selfish person

*for those who are wondering, this is a happy end*

PROS:
- I like how it made me on the edge of my seat to know who enchante is. The answer is also very unexpected.
- the backgrounds, camera work and cinematography is very nice. A tad lower than vice versa though.
- the kiss scenes are superb.
- the families are well casted.
- ost ❤️

CONS:

The cons far outweigh the pros. That is why I gave it a very low rating:

- the worst last episode I have ever seen. It was sooo mediocre that I almost gagged. The kiss scene and the proposal was quite good but it did not save it.
- I felt that Theo is a very selfish person. All throughout the series, I felt this one sidedrelationship between AkkTheo and I didnt like that. There is no scene whatsoever that Theo did something sweet or romantic for Akk, really. Quite disappointing.
- there are a lot of plot points in which they tried to solve ever single one of it in the last episode, which made it a bit condense and confusing.
- I really did not feel they were finally together, other than the instances when they call themselves boyfriends.
- I also didnt like how the series tried to gaslight us viewers into thinking that the 3 enchante wannabes are acquitted just because they are too 'pitiful.' not enough episodes to make me think otherwise of them.


All in all, I will still suggest you watch it. The actors are very handsome and well-casted, just a very poorly written story in which they tried to stretch it to 10 episodes. But I think it is not something I will watch again.

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Well, I'm conflicted

I feel mixed emotions right now,seriously. In the beginning I really really enjoyed this series, I thought it was interesting and unique. I continued to enjoy it but slowly got tired of the enchante plot and began to only watch for Akk and Theo. When they got together I was thrilled but, when the next episode came, I couldn't find the motivation to watch it. I'm aware of the overall happenings due to tiktok but I just didn't want to watch it. So when the final episode came out, I didn't watch. I don't really need to in order to know what happened. The tension is resolved and they get together. Now, I don't want people to not watch because they'd miss Akk. Akk is the best character in the show, he has the most personality and was the best acted. He is also very cute so that's a plus. Overall, am I telling you not to watch this? No, not at all. But am I telling you that you should watch it? Also no. Just do you and watch it if you want to. It's too bad I lost my love for this show because I really did love it however things change. *sigh*

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One of the best portrayals of childhood friends to lovers I've seen

And trust me, I'm an avid romance reader and watcher.

I rarely feel the need to write a review here, but this time I had to because it's very unfair what people have been doing with this show. First of all, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I respect that, but this is just pettiness at this point.

Enchanté has had a love story premise from the beginning - you can rewatch the mock trailer and the official trailer, it has never passed as something else. And that's exactly what it is. From episode 1 we can catch glimpses of this love being built. We catch a hint of Theo's (the main character) personality and how that makes him a romantic and how his relationship with the main lead (Akk) is going to grow and their dynamics. I personally enjoyed the show from the first episode, but I can understand that it would take some time for other people. What I can't understand is why some of you would come here and complain with assumptions after watching one single episode, that is 1/10 of the story.

Moving forward, comes one of the reasons I came to like the show so much: it builds up perfectly. Once you reach the latest eps you can notice how hints were dropped in the first eps, how they've been foreshadowing a lot of stuff; the kind of show you know it'll hit different on a rewatch, because now you know where to look and see what it has always been there! I know a lot of people have been claiming that the plot is flat, but I can't not disagree with that when the story is being told so well and the knots are being tied when they're supposed to. This year only I have watched different shows with supposedly better plots that weren't able to do that.

Force and Book are doing a great job of telling AkkTheo's story, but saying they're the only reason why fans are watching the show is not only ridiculous but disrespectful to the rest of the cast and everyone involved in it. We had the 4 ambassadors who claimed to be the Enchanté trying to court Theo and the writers made a good choice of pace in telling each of their stories in a different episode. We had the time to get to know all of them without losing track of the main leads' story, because Akk was always there and Theo has always only had eyes for him. And that's plot wise great. Their relationship is indeed the must of the show, but isn't that the whole point of a love story? I can't get why anyone would be mad at this.

I think when it comes to the childhood friends to lovers trope, it's really hard to make it perfect, and that's ok. Friendship is something very intricate and you have to be careful to make it believable that the feeling changed for the characters, to show how/when/why that feeling changed; to show the desperation of wanting to take a step forward and the fear of messing everything up and losing the person that means so much to you. It's not easy to put that on paper and probably even harder to show that on television, but they actually did that perfectly. As Taylor Swift once said, "you can hear it in the silence/you can feel it on the way home/you can see it with the light's out" and that's what the writers and specially ForceBook brought us, and maybe that's why they got a hold on these fans because they got a loved trope and portrayed perfectly.

"But who's the Enchanté?" Of course that is the biggest call of the show and like I mentioned before, they worked with this for several eps: getting to know the boys and their reasons, and one by one, why none was The Enchanté. The revelation (in ep 8, to be more specific) wasn't a shock for some and it was "disappointing" for others, but you can't say it was a plot failure or something in this line of thought because the hints were always there. It wasn't something out of pocket to shock the audience - it was carefully worked on from episode 1. So yeah I think it's fine if you expected to be someone else, but that's on you and your expectations, it wasn't written in any other direction than what it was meant to. So maybe stop being petty about this lol.

Last but not least, there's a lot of parallels with THE LITTLE PRINCE Can you believe that? The first time I saw the leads as kids reading the book it melted my heart, but I thought it'd be that. Gladly, I was wrong! Their story is almost a retelling of the book we've known and loved for years. They barely quote the story, but it's all there and you can see it if you know it. It's just amazing what they made out of it and I love this so so much. The AkkTheo relationship is the unraveling of "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

In conclusion (because this is getting too long ain't no one reading all that) I think it's obvious now how I love this show. It became a comfort for me and I do believe it could be a comfort show for a lot of people as well. Enchanté had the "disadvantage" of airing right after a hyped and loved show, but comparing to it and criticizing over and over again just because "it's not that show" is simply childish and unfair to them. Of course it's not that show and it'll never be - never tried to. They're telling a different story and believe me: you can enjoy both! Why would you try to make a rivalry out of this when you can appreciate two good shows instead. Shows end and it's not their fault that the previous one did and they got the tv time... Come on. Also, why would you come to mdl and rate/write a review to the show after watching less than half of it? It doesn't make sense - you don't know the full story. Of course you're not obligated to watch the whole thing if you dislike it, but then just drop it and move on, it's pretty unfair to $hit about it and drop the ratings considerably just because you personally got fed up with 2 eps. And the reason why I'm writing this with still one episode to go is because I'm pretty tired of the free hate the show is receiving on this site.

And now, FINALLY, if you enjoy romance I think you'll love this. If you want to watch best friends slowly and MUTUALLY falling for each other to the point they can't take it anymore and lose themselves to it, I think you'll love it! If you want SLOWBURN and MUTUAL PINING you'll LOVE THIS! So please, try not to give up before even trying because of some bad reviews you saw about it. Give it a chance and have your own opinion on it.

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Watch Enchanté!

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Original story, Awful execution

The story had amazing potential but the writers squandered it on illogical twists and turns.

BL harem? Count me in! That was my first reaction. But after watching more episodes I realized the writers might not have ever watched an actual harem series or anime in their lives. Apart from some very well written and directed scenes in the first few episodes, I'm sorry to say this series didn't deliver on what it set to accomplish. A love story with a bunch of guys seeking the love of one cute guy.

On the acting, props to Force for acting the hell out of some of the most cringe-worthy scenes I've ever watched. He did a great job, also Fluke (Saifah) and Boom were great, hope to see more of them in the future. Book needs to get his act together, literally. He was all over the place in some scenes, his face is very expressive and that can be both an asset and a liability.

The music was okay. Tho the music video for the intro song was pretty good.

My first thoughts were that a BL harem situation was an amazing plot, but at the end the story they had in mind didn't fit quite well with that premise, in my opinion.

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SHUT UP AKKTHEO BOYFRIENDS<3

!!CONTAINS SPOILERS!!
I don't really care about MDL rating actually, but this is the second time i feel the need to write a review about a series. The first time was because of how bad a series was and this second time is because i want to give justice to an actual good show, and that is Enchanté.

At first i watched the show because i was bored and saw the first episode on my yt timeline so i watched it. I didn't even know the actors and the plot summary at that time. The concept of looking for enchanté surely wasn't my favorite, but i was just curious on how the story would be. I was worried, i thought it would end in a cliché way like most story with similar concept were. I had so many thought, and my most concern was "why is he so attached to this enchanté guy?" when he clearly doesn't have a deep connection with him. They only exchanged a few sentence on the book anonymously, and it's not even personal. So i thought they would make Akk the enchanté and the only reason Theo felt something about the enchanté is because it's his best friend which he had subconsciously liked for a long time, blah blah . And it's just meh. The usual illogical love story. BUT then i saw the spoiler of who enchanté actually is, just after i finished episode 2. So i watched the next episode with Theo as enchanté in my mind, and i got even more curious as to how they will reveal the story without making it look "forced" and have actual reasons behind all the characters' actions. And i should say i'm SATISFIED.

1. The enchanté isn't Akk nor the 4 ambassadors.
2. Theo have his reason for being the enchanté. People might say he's crazy for this, but it's not like he purposely hired 4 men to pretend to be his "enchanté", he was a victim of the ambassadors trying to get something from him by being his enchanté. And although i wouldn't do something as extreme as what Theo did, i can totally understand his reasons.
3. The ambassadors have their reasons for pretending to be enchanté. And i'm glad it's not because they're genuinely have feelings for Theo, because that would seem too "dreamy" especially since Theo is a new student.
4. They did a very good job at linking stuff that they showed in previous episodes as evidence of some key point in the later episodes. For example, Akk being a lefty, Saifah as the only enchanté among the 4 ambassadors, and Natee as the key person.
5. The story is in the right pace, not too slow nor too fast. They're not jumping into kissing since the first episode just because they're best friends. And they're not dragging it too much either. At least while we're waiting for them to confess their feelings, we can see the development of their relationship in every episode.
6. AND THE CHEMISTRY. They have one of the best chemistry in BL industry. I love how comfortable they are as real life best friends, and they're not forcing fan services by unnecessary skinship or sweet talk. So if someone have the nerve to say something about their chemistry, i'm 100% sure that person doesn't have a friend irl that's why they don't understand how chemistry between friends actually is.
Also, additional fact. The 2 main leads, Force and Book have known each other since kindergarten so expect a good friendship from them.

(++) Acting wise, overall all the characters are good. But let's focus on the 2 main leads. I'm not an expert so i can't say this theoretically, but i can at least judge their acting based on how comfortable i see them. Their acting aren't awkward at all, and i could say one of the best especially among rookies. Yes, they're rookies. Force is really versatile in facial expression, he doesn't hesitate in moving all his facial features like eyes, mouth and eyebrows to express the character of Akk. I feel the need to mention this since some actors look really stiff, even when they try to play with their eyebrows, their eyes seems tense and doesn't give off the right emotions. So, i'm glad to see the variety of expressions Force shows. And Book, honestly i think that it's due to the character that he couldn't show expressions as much as Force. Because Theo is a calm person and not as expressive as Akk. BUT he did a good job in every expression he portrays as Theo. Like, the little confusion everytime he talk with the ambassadors. And episode 8 is the peak, he did a good job in expressing the frustration and disappoinment Theo felt towards Akk and i especially like his expression after the balcony kiss scene. When they let go of their kiss, he looks like he tried to "scoop" the air, he makes it look like he's reluctant to let go of the kiss and still wanted Akk but on the other hand his smile showed relief that his longing for Akk was finally over.

Enchanté plot might be simple, but at least they shows that they actually thought about the storyline. Not like some shows with literal plot holes but then get praised by people simply because the actors are handsome (well, ForceBook indeed are handsome too ofc) or the story have some spicy bed scenes (i'm not talking about any spesific show, ok?).
I just don't understand how can people hating on a light, unproblematic and harmless show like enchanté. I saw a lot of unnecessary and unreasonable hatred towards this show since the first episode. Just because it replaces the previous show, not up to their taste and the dumbest one is because the main leads look like twins. LOL.
Well, i think that's all i wanna say. Thanks for reading this long ass paragraph, but i would really appreciate it if you guys watch this show with a light feeling and without any sentimental judgement ^^ So you can enjoy the show and grasp the story well.

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Have you finger on the fast forward button at all times...

Agree with so many reviews. Some with great lines. While this one was a mature look at relationships and people in general, it suffered on focusing on too many things that just didn't matter. While discussing this series with a friend, I told her that watching paint dry could be more interesting.

Agree - the chemistry that was bubbling to the top in the beginning was washed away as the series dragged on. It got to the point that when I would see certain characters or, start to listen to their conversation - I knew I could blow through the scene and not miss a single thing. Time saver!

Give me a series like My Happy Marriage (both Anime and live action) where you are left wanting for more. In eleven live action episodes and less for the Anime - we fell in love with the main characters and wanted the best for them. We cheered when they fought the evil ones and were hurt as much as they were hurting while they went through their trials.

Wonderful opportunities were lost in this series. And, how about that school? You could only be an ambassador/guide if you were good looking, talented AND gay? LOL Like we saw in My Engineer (a guilty pleasure - even with Poy's terrible acting skills) - why aren't there 20 college girls screaming and complaining about all the best guys being completely unavailable?

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Akk Deserves Better

Recap: Theo moves back to the Thailand after his Grandmother passed in an accident. He is reunited with his childhood best friend, Akk. His new life back home bores him so he writes in a french book in the library, Enchanté, and magically he comes back and someone wrote a message back in the book. After the search for the mysterious Enchanté, comes up with 4 possible people the story begins to unfold.

⚠️Tread lightly spoilers ahead⚠️

First off Akk is the embodiment of perfect man imo. It was a running joke between the friend I watched this with and myself that Nubsib from Lovely Writer was our previous standard for men and now Akk has stolen his crown. He's kind, respectful, and kind of oblivious.

The problem lies with Theo. He's spoiled and manipulative. There were a a lot of things he did that left a bad taste in my mouth. We attributed a lot of his earlier behavior as possibly still reeling from the loss of his grandmother but then things kept getting worse. After the Enchanté reveal, his already not great character went downhill. Theo got mad at Akk for not telling him his parents split up but it wasn't Akk's place to tell him and he wanted to keep Theo happy. Theo immediately turning around and calling Sun after he got mad at Akk while drunk and angry is very bothersome behavior.

Theo also seems to have a habit of going to extremes. Akk doesn't pay attention to you for a day? Pretend to be a love rival to get his attention and bribe a guy to pretend to be said love interest with the promise of furthering his career. You find out your parents split up and you don't know if you are holding your boyfriend back in life? Well, don't talk to him about the issue, move back to France, and tell him straight up that you leaving and don't leave room for negotiation. He just got more unlikeable as the show went on.

The rest of the cast was unremarkable outside of Saifa (love you Fluke Gawin?) and i saw some people say that the show should have ended after Episode 8 and I agree.

I recommend this show for a casual watch to fill the time. preferably after a drama that left a worse taste in your mouth. Props to the actors for their amazing acting tho. ?

Note this was written between 1am and 2am after a work day so pardon the weird phrasing.

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