Is anyone else watching Dưới Tán Cây Mùa Hè - Under The Oak Tree (Vietnam)?

I just finished watching Ep 9 of "Under the Oak Tree" (Vietnam) on YT and was wondering if anyone else is watching this BL. I had low expectations when I started it but it has surprised and delighted me every episode. It's such a shame that we cannot add Vietnamese dramas on MDL.  It's a musical BL, which is pretty unique,  and it appears as though the cast are the actual vocal performers as well. The visuals of the main couple are great, the acting is good, and the music is good! 

 flourpowerphd:

Wait, why can't we add viet bl on mdl?!

I don't know! Unfortunately it's not one of the approved countries:

South Korea
Japan
China
Taiwan
Hong Kong
Thailand
Philippines

There are some threads requesting Vietnam be added, but it has yet to occur. 

 flourpowerphd:

Wow, that's so strange. Thanks for the info. I'll def advocate for Viet bl to be added. And I watched the first episode of UtOT tonight. It feels like they recorded the actors' speech in post and it doesn't sound as natural..? But the music is really good! 

Yeah, I appreciate having the cleaner audio without environmental noise, but it does seem like it loses some of the flow of natural dialogue.  Maybe where I don't understand Vietnamese it's easy for me to adjust to.  I also appreciate all of the different outdoor locations they shot at. I think they've done a great job with this unique production. Unfortunately Episode 10 has been delayed until July 26. I hope you enjoy it and continue to watch! 

Also the main leads reels on IG are too cute/funny (@vuonghuyofficial & @sam.0985)

 flourpowerphd:

Yes! Their IGs are SO cute!! That's how I found out about the show. Are Tran and Vuong actually together, or is it all fan service?? They look so close. 

I can only assume it is fanservice, but I am not familiar enough with these two. They have such a natural chemistry, I'd love to see them as a couple in another BL production! 

I know I said it before, but it feels like a show like this might get more traction if it was in the MDL database. I recently saw a beautiful Vietnamese GL short film on YT ("The Spring Poem" by Đặng Sinh) that was very well done. Again, just a shame it's not reaching a wider audience!

 flourpowerphd:

Thanks for the other rec! This past week I was like, I haven't watched a single viet bl. Yes, I think they would get a lot more attention if they were logged here. 

Btw the song at the end of episode 4 of UtOT was so well done, so emotive, so  heart breaking. My fav so far I think.  I need the ost on Spotify!! Anyhow, sorry to keep replying. Thanks for chatting along! 

Haha, no need to apologize! I appreciate having someone else to chat about this show with.  I agree, the song at the end of Episode 4 was really beautiful.  I'd love to hear your thoughts when you get to Episode 9!

I keep a private list of the all the Vietnamese BLs I've watched so I can track them in MDL if they ever add Vietnam.  So if you're ever looking for a recommendation  for other Vietnamese BL dramas, I'd be happy to share my list & ratings.

I just finished episode 10, too! The time leap was a bit jarring; I'm not sure I was totally on board with the whole purgatory storyline. But I'm glad we got to see what would have happened if Linh was honest. And the adult leads, maybe their roles should have been switched. Physically, adult Khahn looked a little more like teen Dang and vice versa..? Lol

But the series really broke a barrier here, doing a more musical format. I wish they would have leaned into even more bc the songs were gorgeous! I need the ost. I may have to dl the videos and crop just the songs. 

And yes, the chemistry between the leads was palpitating. ? Their IGs reflect that. They do extreme fan service if they're not really together.  Today's post was so cute!! 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C97pkJOyP8Z/?igsh=N2U4Zms1a2xwbXox

 Shasha:

The owners of the site, Administrators  Skye-N-Rain and Ji-N! And if they do not want it, we will not get it, no matter how much we ask for it! So you might as well forget about it!

oh wow