My Dear Gangster Oppa (2023)

Ridiculous but fun!

One thing is certain: bls and mafia do not mix well together! This latest example is just so ridiculous that I really do not understand why they are still making this type of romance dramas? Trying to ride on KinnProsche's coattails? That one was already ridiculous enough but at least it was slick! This one is ridiculous and cheap looking.

Guy is a student who's had a crush on his only friend since highschool. On the day he planned to confess, his friend introduces him to his girlfriend. Sad and lonely, he goes into the fictional world of on line games where he has friends he's never met. They decide to meet in real life and one of them is Tew who turns out to be a mafia henchman. He falls for Guy but the mafia boss is reluctant to let him be free.

While the university, regular life parts were done correctly, the mafia bits are outrageously ridiculous. The writers must have said: everyone does mafia like this, so it must be the way it is. Allow me to doubt! And even though it is probably far from being realistic (and I am NOT looking for realism in a BL) but at least they should make it credible. The prime example is Kenji, an over the top mafia rival of Tew's with his silly hair and outrageous and grimacing behaviour: too cringy for words! Tew on the other hand, is cool, tall, elegant and taciturn, the complete opposite! While Guy is your typical, ordinary student!

The story is basically a love triangle : Wahl, Guy's best friend likes having Guy under his thumb, unwittingly, perhaps, wanting to control his life. When Guy finally manages to break free, Wahl is upset and tries to regain control. Unsuccessfully! Meeting Tew did wonders for Guy and he grows as a person. Wahl is ultimately shown as a creep who eventually learns to let go!

The online group of friends are a mixed lot, cute and fun to watch whether they bicker (Tom and Pim) or obliviously put their fut in (Muffin)! The least likeable character is Boss, Kenji's spy, and a weird, sleazy guy!

Fortunately, the chemistry was there! Meen and Ping are very much at ease with each other and it shows!

Production was a bit clunky and on the cheap side. The exception being the opening credits which were a mixture of webtoon and real images of actors: nice and original. The voiceover was a nice touch, giving us insight into their thoughts and feelings. The music was forgettable, though I noticed the usual, ominous, heavy on the percussions music in mafia scenes. The "action" scenes were iffy to say the least: the most violent bits happened off screen or were hidden by furniture while the fist fighting scenes were unconvincing, well choreographed but badly filmed and slow so it was obvious that nobody was getting really hit!

In conclusion, this was another miss for the mafia genre so I wholeheartedly hope they will stop making them! Nevertheless, because it was short and easy to watch, I give it a pass: not too bad!

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I Kind of Like it..?

Going into this, I was a little skeptical, but as of now, I really think this series played out to the best of its ability. Was it flawless? No. Were there some bumps along the way? Absolutely. However, overall, this series offers a fast-paced viewing experience, mostly entertaining, featuring some aesthetically pleasing characters that I can't help but appreciate.

Let's Dive In.

So for the most part, My Dear Gangster Oppa is good, at least in my opinion. My only struggle with this series was sitting through the "mafia" or "gangster" part of it all. I think it works in some parts, and then in others it doesn't. Like the backstory is neat, the way in which Thiu has to get out of the mob is great, and even some of the more specific details make lots of sense, however, I was just really bored with the whole Kenji storyline. Like you're in a mafia, just kill the dude and move on, did this really have to escalate for an entire 8 episodes? But I say that because I am also just not the biggest fan of these recreations of "KinnePorche" (again, in my opinion) -- and maybe not necessarily recreations, cause other series can make a plot surrounding the mafia and whatnot, but I always just think back to KP whenever that happens and it's just not as top tier as that was.

Moving on to the romance, I think Meen and Ping had great chemistry, except their characters moved into a relationship way before I think the characters were ready for one. It's obvious they both have some feelings for each other at the beginning, which again, the build-up to the relationship is my favorite part about BL in general. But I feel like before they can hit their climax of feelings, they're already kissing and having sex and becoming boyfriends. It's a lot to move into, especially after Guy becomes aware of Thiu being in the mafia, having so much anger that Thiu didn't tell him, and then subsequently not caring about that anymore out of the blue. I love slow burn, I'll love it till the day I die, and this couple was not that at all. They were quick-paced, and they fell in love pretty quickly. However, Meen and Ping do chemistry rather well, so their kiss and NC scenes were all great.

Moving onto Wal, I actually really like him. He's severely unpopular, and most people wish he wasn't in this, but for a slight second, this actually felt like it could've been a love triangle, and that's also something I love. Wal was a guy who was terrible at admitting his feelings, and due to it, he hurt his friend who, at the time, was also reciprocating his feelings. I'm also a sucker for friends to lovers which is another reason why I was rooting for them, but of course, it wasn't going to happen for many reasons. Also, I'm shallow, and Winner (Wal) is gorgeous.

The side couple that wasn't really a side couple was pretty disappointing. I think they had a nice build-up, but it doesn't go anywhere. Slightly aggravating. Also me just being nit-picky, but the scars on Thiu's body... why were they like an orange/yellow color? I'm no doctor, I have no idea about any of the scarring tissue and whatnot, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't turn a sickly yellow tone? I wish the makeup department could've at least used some foundation to blend it in a little better, but whatever.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Good, some parts draggy, some parts boring, but for the most part. good. The romance isn't the best I've seen, but it did capture my attention a lot within the first couple of episodes.

Acting: 8/10: I think it was good for the most part. Some actors felt a little mediocre, but it doesn't take you out of the story any, just that it could've been a bit better.

Music: 6/10: Didn't pay it any attention and it wasn't distracting, so good!

Recommendation Value: 5.5/10: This wouldn't be something I'd recommend, just because I personally don't see it as something that is indeed in need of a watch. But the actors are beautiful (I want to stuff Winner in my pocket) and if you like a mafia story, then sure.

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Cringey

I was cringey so hard at some scenes especially the crying ones. The storyline was also pretty plain and predictable. I’m so bored of the storylines where they break up with their partner cause it’s “dangerous”. Even if it was a plot like this make it more interesting at least. The random quitting and going back caught me off guard. While guy was hanging out with wal acting all fine and then starting crying about it I was so confused. Wal was also such a bad person and then turned around to be “caring” all of a sudden. their chemi wasn’t the best either. I don’t get the random scenes and I think this drama was just a flop.

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Don't watch for the mafia plotline...

I almost wish I could rate this lower. The "gangster" aspects mostly involved a loose mafia plotline, complete with poorly choreographed fight scenes and a rivalry that made no sense. However, despite the lackluster gangster oppa plot, I found myself enjoying every single episode WAY more than I expected.

This show is fun. It's light, an easy watch, and unintentionally goofy. There's not too much drama between the couple over the course of the 8 episodes, which is ideal in a show like this. Tew (Meen) and Guy (Ping) meet while playing online games together and decide to meet up. The two totally hit it off and start hanging out together more regularly, which of course leads to them falling in love. However, Tew's attempts to hide his "gangster" identity don't go well, and this could put Guy in danger. I find mafia BLs to be hit or miss, especially when it comes to the action scenes. I don't typically expect a lot out of Thai BLs when it comes to that, but if you're going to do a gangster concept, I do think that's pretty important. While it may have missed the mark there, it made up for it in the cute and fun romance, which is worth watching.

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My dear MeenPing has the chemistry but not consistency

It is my second drama wherein Meen and Ping are the paired couple, and as expected, both of them still have the chemistry that wins the audience to continue consuming their show. When Ping’s character was introduced, I was in awe of how cute this man is. His acting may be totally below average when it comes to heave scenes but whenever he has a youthful and joyful mood, the whole scenes are just like a ray of sunshine full of fluffiness and majestic smiles.

In this drama, they gave a second lead syndrome in which, Whal played by Winner, absolutely caught my attention to the next level. This guy is a total hottie and at the same time a softie. I can’t blame Guy for falling in love with his best friend Whal as this man knows how to take good care of someone by showering them with utmost care and attention.

Another thing that ticks my attentiveness is the unexpected pairing of the mafia assistants. I must say that I love how they shaped the non-toxic masculinity with Tul’s character, who seems manly and macho.

However, I noticed that MeenPing drama is great during their first few episodes but not that consistent as I felt a little bored during the last few episodes. I also experienced this kind of emotion during their first major acting as a pair and maybe it was their acting or the storyline that gets too draggy at the end.

Nevertheless, I can’t hide the fact that I have a good time watching the show and despite the flaws it has, the drama itself managed to be an average BL one for me.

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Maybe contain spoilers ..Heck I don't know

This was good overall but there was a lot that didn't make sense. When it came
right down to it the mob boss was really a weak character. For someone in that
line of work to make someone you know not wrapped to tight your right hand
was just ridiculous. A mob boss is to be a take no prisoners kind of person.
Just because Kenji stuck a gun to his mouth means nothing as a supposed test of loyalty .?
Also about the Kenji character ?he was so unnecessarily over the top and looked like a
clownish fool to be honest. No offense to the actor but that was just bad on epic levels.
I also don't get why Tew didn't kill the guy when he was supposed to. Why keep giving
him chance after chance letting him live was beyond me. Unless he wanted to stop killing
because of Guy is the only explanation I could come up with. In the end I'd rewatch this again
from time to time though.

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Watchable but not re-watchable

I finished the episode and I must say that I hoped I had forgotten more emotional. From the first to the sixth episode the enrendo had been remarkable.

Overall the series was good, but I confess that there are points that left something to be desired..

Starting with the good ones.. I loved the friendship created between P'Tew and P'Tul. I wasn't expecting it, however, it was so refreshing to see the moments shared by the two, both in work and in personal life.

When P'Boss appeared I expected there to be some development between him and P'Tul. Even though I knew it wouldn't be with the same depth as the main characters, but they are a couple immediately following the main one.

And is it just me or did you also feel that something was missing... I'll explain, in the scene where P'Tew rents a store to make the disguise P'Boss and P'Tul spend a lot of time alone, but NOTHING happened between them, how is it possible? I don't know if it was their intention to make P'Tul insensitive

And we saw P'Boss spending most of his time apologizing, even though he proved with his actions that he was sorry. It left me heartbroken

And suddenly at the end of episode 8 we see the two interacting with the group...as if nothing had happened between them, it was strange

And then we have P'Phai, who is part of the common group of friends of P'Tew and P'Guy..and is the only one who has a very fast character development, suddenly she is police and does not appear at the last moment that they are all gathering together?

Without forgetting something that gave me a lot of fun about P'Guy...P'Tew had told him that he was a gangster so how is he going to contact P'Phai who is a police officer for the attempted murder of his boyfriend's former boss knowing that they deal with illegal matters and that they are in possession of illegal weapons?

Apart from the logic of the facts, I think that if they had lengthened a little the story would be better, because the story was a little more complex. 8 episodes is very little and many characters did not have time to develop as it should be, such as P'Guy. In the last episode, even explaining to him the situation that is of life or death to another human being he is insensitive

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Could be Better - but MeenPing ❤️

I was so excited for this series. I will watch Meen and Ping in anything they do and enjoy it. They are such a perfect couple and have great chemistry. Both are adorable and the differences in their personalities just works. Meen plays a great gangster and, as always, Ping is cute as a button. Wish there were more steamy scenes!

The story was pretty good but it was no “KinnPorche” or “Manner of Death”. I would love to see them in more serious roles. This was edging that way but had a little too much slapstick for me.

Was not of fan of TulBoss couple. Tul was too old for Boss and Boss was just a terrible actor. I was too distracted by his weird facial expressions.

The ending came out of nowhere. No one mentioned doing that and seemed very unrealistic to me. I’m sure it was explained better in the novel but seemed very rushed in the series.

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Believe it or not, it is better than their previous BL together

I originally was not going to watch this series. Why? Because of the MC's Meen and Ping. Last year, I watched another series with them called 'Ai Long Nhai'. I gave that series a 1.5,0.5 for the two actors who played Meen's father in the series. So, when I saw this, I told myself not to watch it. However, I caved in and watched it. And I must say, it is actually a lot better than their previous series.

The first three episodes of this series were phenomenal for me. After, that I don't know what happened. I just felt that more episodes could have been used to properly explain this series- and not twelve episodes but like just one or two more to just flesh out the storyline. Pacing is an issue for me in this series, especially at the end when a few weeks have passed, followed by a few months. Also, some of the supporting characters annoyed me a bit (Wal and Kenji). Because of all of, this I give the story a 7 because Meen was actually good in this.

As stated previously, some of the acts stood out to me in their acting skills prepare for others. I have watched other mafia shows (some good and some bad) and the acting here by Meen and Tien (the actor who played Tul), is good. I also liked some of the supporting characters in their roles. Because of this - I will give the acting a 7.

The music is memorable, and I know that I am going to miss hearing it every Thursday. so, I will give that an 8. For the Rewatch Valu, I will give a 7.5, because I really did like them, and the story and I don't mind watching them again.

So, it can be seen that this series is not perfect. But this second outing of Meen and Ping as a couple shows us that the actors have improved (for me), drastically as I rated their previous series a 1.5 and I am now rating this series a 7.5.

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Lovable series

I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this series, from the captivating storyline to the palpable chemistry between the characters. Compared to their first series, I must admit that this one was more enjoyable and showcased their improvement. The storyline was engaging and intricately woven, keeping me hooked from start to finish. The character dynamics and their relationships were portrayed with a finesse that added depth and authenticity to the narrative.

One of the standout features of this series was the impeccable chemistry between the characters. The actors' performances were not only convincing but also created a magnetic on-screen presence that intensified the emotional impact of the story. The nuanced interactions, heartfelt moments, and subtle gestures contributed to the overall authenticity of the characters' connections, making it a joy to watch.

The evolution and development of the characters were also commendable. Each one underwent significant growth, adding layers to their personalities and making them relatable. The character arcs were thoughtfully crafted, and the cast members' performances brought them to life in a way that resonated with the audience.

Furthermore, the production quality of this series was good. The cinematography, set design, and overall visual aesthetics contributed to the immersive experience. The attention to detail in recreating the world of the story was evident, and it enhanced the overall viewing pleasure.

In terms of pacing, the series struck a perfect balance, allowing the plot to unfold organically without rushing or dragging. The narrative twists and turns were well-executed, keeping me on the edge of my seat and eager to discover what would happen next. The seamless integration of suspenseful moments and poignant scenes created a rollercoaster of emotions, making it a truly memorable viewing experience.

In conclusion, this series lived up to the expectations. From a compelling storyline to stellar performances and remarkable chemistry between the characters, it showcased a level of quality that is a testament to the dedication and talent of everyone involved in its production. I eagerly anticipate Meen Nichakoon Khajornborirak and Ping Krittanun Aunchananun's future work, as this series has undoubtedly left a lasting impression on me as a viewer.

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