My Only 12% (2022)

I must admit, I had been avoiding watching this particular show due to the rather harsh reviews it had received. However, when I finally decided to give it a chance, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it turned out to be. It's a simple story about two guys who have grown up together, and although they are clearly in love, it seems that they are the only ones who fail to recognize it.

I understand that there has been criticism regarding the amount of crying in the show, but personally, I found it to be perfectly appropriate for the storyline. It added depth and emotion to the characters' journey, and I believe it enhanced the overall viewing experience.

Admittedly, there were moments when the pace of the show felt a bit slow. However, the exceptionally well-executed episodes made up for it, and time seemed to fly by effortlessly. I do agree with others who felt that the final two episodes were somewhat unnecessary and didn't contribute much to the overall narrative.

One aspect that I particularly loved about this show was the cast. It was a delight to see familiar faces from the early days of the BL genre, bringing a sense of nostalgia and appreciation. As for the two leads, I simply cannot imagine any other actors portraying Cake and Sii-eiw. They did an outstanding job of bringing these characters to life, capturing their essence and making them truly believable.

In conclusion, despite the initial reservations I had due to negative reviews, I found this show to be a pleasant surprise. It may have had its slower moments, but the exceptional episodes and the brilliant performances by the cast made it a worthwhile watch.

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One of the Best BLs I've Seen

I'm completely re-writing this review after seeing this a third time. I've seen maybe 30 BL dramas now and this is among the best. The story about two guys who grow up near each other and fall in love rings true. There's a profound message under the surface when straight Cake declares he'll "be gay" just for Seeiw. Who cares who you love? Who says it has to be someone of the opposite gender? And when Seeiw apologizes for being gay, Cake asks him why he thinks he's gay. I think the point of Cake's question is, "who cares?" Why all these labels? Overall, this drama hits all the right notes. The score is beautiful, highlighted by Boy Sompob's OST, which brought the series to my attention in the first place. I had given "My 12 Percent" 10 across the board but in this revision I'm downgrading it to 9 on Seeiw's character. All of his crying wears thin pretty quickly and, toward the end, becomes almost comical. It's one-dimensional and really needed a stronger arc to have some kind of crisis for Cake where Seeiw could have stepped up to help him. On the other hand, I loved Santa's enthusiastic performance of Cake. BL dramas tend to be pretty timid when it comes to romantic scenes and Cake's unbridled kissing really sells his relationship with Seewin. It's even more remarkable when you consider Santa is only 19 and has much less acting experience than Earth. The great kissing scenes aside, this drama is surprisingly timid when it comes down to romantic scenes where Thai BL films like "WhyRU" and "A Chance for Love" have already set a high bar. This isn't to say that a bed scene is required, but please note there are endless references to Cake and Seeiw taking a shower -- separately. So there was a missed opportunity to show a change in the intimacy of their relationship to shower together. The supportive secondary characters are welcome departure from the homophobic cliches that seem to infect so many LGBT-themed dramas. In sum, a few minor complaints aside, highly enjoyable with a top re-watch score. I look forward to seeing this edited down to a two-hour movie.

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A GOOD DRAMA WITH 0 TOXICITY

Yeah it's basically a cute love story of 2 boys who have been together since childhood. We have seen many such similar plots but this plot is quiet unique.
First of all I loved See-Eiw and Cake's chemistry. It seemed so natural. They were closely knit since childhood and the level of comfort they had with each other wasn't just that of ordinary Bromance. They always slept hugging each other. Both helped each other in their own ways. We saw that even when the phase came where cake had a girlfriend and was busy with her, he always cared about Eiw. Though Eiw felt neglected and hurt at times, whenever Cake felt like Eiw was upset, he always asked him..."are you angry..what's the matter"... At the time when he was about to leave for America, he prioritised Eiw and spent time with him, even at the cost of breaking up with his gf. After he went , I thought, maybe like most storylines, they will eventually lose contact and get busy with their own lives. But no! They stayed connected for all those 4 years, patiently waiting for each other while improving themselves. Eventually, Cake also realised that he was in love with Eiw and they became a couple. ACTUALLY, THEY'VE ALWAYS LOVED EACH OTHER. THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN EACH OTHER'S HOME. ONLY THE RELATIONSHIP STATUS CHANGED FROM FRIENDS TO BOYFRIENDS, WITH A ROMANTIC ASPECT ADDED.
THE DRAMA ALSO FOCUSED ON QUITTING TOBACCO by showing how Eiw's mom had to die due to passive smoking.
Overall, IT WAS A HEALTHY DRAMA. THERE WAS SO UNNECESSARY LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP, THERE WAS NO DELIBERATELY MAKING EACH OTHER JEALOUS/MAD , HURTING EACH OTHER, THERE WERE NO TOXIC SECOND LOVE INTERESTS AND UNNECESSARY PARENT ISSUES. IT WAS OVERALL A VERY LOVEY-DOVEY WITHOUT BEING CRINGE TYPE OF DRAMA. BUT, IT WASN'T ANYTHING NEW, EXCITING OR EXTRAORDINARY. SO MY PROBABILITY OF RE-WATCHING IT IS PROBABLY LOW. BUT OVERALL ITS A FINE DRAMA.

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It is a great series. I love the story, the characters, the theme songs and the actors are very talented. The male leads and side characters are all so good looking. It is a must watch series. I just wished it was longer, more episodes, go for season two. I'm so glad that the lead characters were real life couples and that made the series more romantic and their acting/feelings is not faked they are all natural.
???????❤️‍?It is a great series. I love the story, the characters, the theme songs and the actors are very talented. The male leads and side characters are all so good looking. It is a must watch series. I just wished it was longer, more episodes, go for season two. I'm so glad that the lead characters were real life couples and that made the series more romantic and their acting/feelings is not faked they are all natural.
???????❤️‍?

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Everything is great except a couple things that make me wanna punt myself from the 8th story

This is a cute, predictable, childhood friendship turned romantic type story. The acting was impeccable, the chemistry between the boys (like all of them, even the friendships that are just friendships) was great. There are a lot of rough moments they have to get through, but they're handled really believably, there werent many moments where I felt kicked out of the story byecause something was farfetched and some of the conflicts gave me some heart squeezes, no tears for this one though.

I think I could rewatch it if I really wanted, maybe in some years, but I'm also not big on rewatching anything, so take that as you will.

Cute as it is, I dont think I wouldve reviewed at all if I wasn't bursting at the seams to say:
wtf is the child + adult storyline???? A fifteen year old thirsts after a 20-sumn yr old and she ISNT immediately like no, absolutely not. And then her FRIEND (debatable, maybe her cellmate) is like, "i just dont want you to regret rejecting him like???? Babe??????? W h a t
And then shes going thru something traumatic and terrifying and this motherfucker is like "HI YES EXCUSE ME, I SEE YOURE GOING THROUGH A LOT RIGHT NOW BUT IM ALL GROWED UP HAHA plsdatemethx" i am flabbergasted because everything else was sooo good
Including that character until she failed to not fall for an actual child, the bar is in hell, how did you trip under it???

And Eiw's voice bro ??
It didnt bother me until literally the second to last episode where theres an event he really has to get emotional for. I had to mute it until he was done which, considering the scene, REALLY took me out of the story. Up until that point, I think the whining wasn't the worst? Idk, ive watched things that have made me want to extract and pulverize my eardrums and this wasn't that for the most part.

Anyway, i would still recommend this because it's cute, the adult mentioned above has no sense but doesnt commit a felony (again, this is hell, would you like to meet the bar?), and the relationships between all the other characters are so fun to see play out.



(It would literally be a 9.5 without that one effing storyline.)

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Simple, pure and touching

Ok i just finished my only 12pc and HEAR ME OUT. This series is just perfect.
But first, let me do what i always do: i really love Earth and their acting. When i watched uwma, i fell in love with his expressions, his so natural way of expressing feelings and his acting, so seeing him as a protagonist makes me so happy, and even more when he doesn't get bullied in the whole drama. He simply deserves the crown.
However, I have to admit that I didn't really know Santa, but he won my heart with this drama.
I've been waiting for this drama for so long and I really can't believe that I actually get to enjoy it. I've been following since they announced it, so I was just living off tiktok videos and promises.

Okay, now I can start.

THIS DRAMA IS PERFECT. For real. Everything about this is impeccable. The way they explore Eiw and Cake's youth in such a natural way, fears, friendship, complicity, and everything else.
When Cake starts to get interested in his girlfriend and pushes Eiw away, and Eiw doesn't know how to name what he's feeling but he knows he's feeling bad. When Eiw watched that movie with his sister and how he felt about and then when he told his sister that he felt the same way about Cake. These are some of my favorite moments just for the way they put it all together. Just real and natural.
I also loved how Eiw used the word "gay" BECAUSE HE'S GAY, he's not just interested in men, HE'S GAY. I swear, when he said that for the first time I cried.
I also love his friends especially Kung, Fee and Tah. The way Eiw could TALK to Kung and Fee and not be judged, the way they support Eiw all the time, even in university. They are my little angels.
Even when Cake goes to the US, everything happened so naturally, so real and so touching. The farewell scene and the homecoming, just tears in my eyes.
The only things I have to say that I really didn't like was the relationship between Eiw's sister and Cake's friend (disgusting) and Eiw's father after the funeral, I found it weak and totally emotionless. Nope, I just hated it.
Anyway, if I'm going to say everything I loved about this series I'll be here forever, so in conclusion this is my new favorite bl and drama, it's just clean, pure, sentimental and amazing. I just loved every second I spent watching it.

PS: I haven't cried so much in a long time ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

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I cried. A lot

How great to watch Earth and Santa again. Earth is an amazing actor who does very well in emotional roles. In this production he hit the jackpot. How to process the realization that not only are you gay, but also in love with your best friend? This was the best part of this series. How sad and wholesome at the same time. We don't get an insight to when Santa's character Cake falls in love or realises this, at least I didn't notice. He tells his friends after he has been away for years (a time walk instead of a time jump. Well done!). I would have liked to see more exploring of feelings.
What I liked: The wholesomeness. Great families, siblings and friends.
Good chemistry but little sexual tension. Just love. Loads of butterflies. The emotion is not too much although it's a lot. Earth is a beautiful cryer. Great side roles and an adorable side couple. Peak does not give up but is so sweet and respectful.
What I liked less: The lessons in disease and their causes. And how the father is to blame. Besides being blamed, he has not been in his kids life for decades but is welcomed back quite easily. That doesn't fly with me coming from a broken home. Santa/Cakes hair after he returns. Bleach gone bad.

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DROPPED
It's basically a BL in 2022 trying so hard to bring back all disgusting and superficial representation about gays and gays relationships which we fought for so long to get changed . There's no plot, it's poor writing. All we see for 9 episodes is the gay "Seeiw ", fragile like a flower, giving all of his live to his confused straight friend "Cake", who said on episode 12 that he is going be gay for him" lol, having it said, there's no need to watch 2 left episodes to know that's going be a mess. Honestly, a love of siam wannabe in 2022.

Only good point : Earth and Santa acting skills, it's just a shame that it was all wasted.

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Drama of the first gay young love. Does it hurt?

I've followed this BL closely. I had no idea about the time setting until episode 4, where they watched Love of Siam (2007). So this series setting could be in 2007-2008. Love of Siam was popular at that time in Thailand, baiting straight audiences into thinking they went to the cinema to watch straight romance. The movie marketing techniques focused on showing boy-girl couples, but then boom, it was boy love. Love of Siam, indeed, is one of the best BL movies Thai ever had.

Back to My Only 12%. In ep 5, Eiw shared his feeling with his sister Hom. This scene would be powerful, noting Earth was really trying hard to pull it through to make this scene believable. But, his co-actor, Hom, was not at the same level; she was a bit flat. Hom failed to show the deepness of her sympathy and cares for her brother. Maybe because she is still new in the industry, I hope she gets better.

Rin is still being kept. We have not seen her, only one or two scenes so far. But she already created conflict by indirectly affecting Eiw and Cake relationship. Rin made Eiw realize that one way or another, there will be people coming to their small happy relationship. Rin is new to Cake, and Cake seems hard to manage his priority. But, I don't blame Cake because I think for Cake, Eiw is just a really close friend or like a little brother. Most teenagers will go for his/her love interest over their friends, and most friends will understand if their friends bail on them because they are catching a girl/boy. This is a long series (14 eps), so, I think we will see Rin more in the future to contest Cake and Eiw's relationship.

We just knew Sand from ep 4. Sand is still a mysterious guy. So far, he seems to be a perfect boy in terms of his attitude. There are two routes for Sand. One, the director and writer play dirty on him by twisting his behavior to turn to be a bad boy. And somehow, Cake will be a savior for Eiw from Sand. If this route will be chosen, the implication of Cake and Eiw's relationship will be Cake, the boy who stays with Eiw because Eiw is too vulnerable to be alone in this cruel world. The second route is, Sand stays a good boy with very clear about what he wants by showing his love interest to Eiw. We've seen this route from Bas (ITSAY). In this story, Sand's job is to challenge Cake to win Eiw over. Even though (from the title) he won't win, he needs to complete his purpose. I think Sand is a perfect opponent for Cake. If they choose Sand to be a good boy, it will be interesting to see how far Sand can go and how his presence can impact Cake's emotions.

Lastly from my note, while the story keeps intriguing and developing, the production seems backward. The color tone becomes inconsistent and visual assets for the location become too redundant. I hope they will manage to up their production quality game like the earliest eps because we still have like 9 eps. Overall, I am happy with this series. Keep up the good work, guys.

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Listen, I know the series is still ongoing, but I am already a fan!

Without any spoilers, to start with, I love the whole finding yourself journey or coming out story, and this series depicts the reality of so many people(it's not always a smooth ride or a fairytale).
I love the plot, the first few lines in ep1 give you an insight into the foundation or background of the story (PS: it made me so excited), and how earth brings out EWI'S character, he makes ewi's experiences and emotions feel so real and relatable, which creates an amazing rapport with the viewers, I also admire ewi's restraint, and I like the tension and relationship between the main leads or characters,(by this I mean it was easy to see them as good friends/brothers and also easy to see them as something more "kind of like the seamless duality of emotions")
the intro music gives a nostalgic feeling that builds the plot. I look forward to the upcoming episodes.

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