American Fan:
I know there's controversy about this version, but honestly, I don't give a frick. I haven't seen the oh-so-perfect original series, and don't plan to. I don't feel the need to judge this series based on other versions before it. The key word is "adapted from", and I like this adaptation just fine. It wasn't perfect, but by far better than quite a few recently released BLs that will be left unnamed, except for...
I know others have different opinions (and that's their right), but I agree with you completely. "Addicted Heroin" is a loose, light, very Thai adaptation which is soooo different from "Stay With Me" in both story and style, and thus I've found it ever easier to stick by my early decision to not compare them and to judge "Addicted Heroin" on its own merits. I've not yet watched the original "Addicted" nor read the novel.
I loved "Stay With Me". Aside from the ending and lack of S2, it's a masterpiece. "Addicted Heroin" is definitely not a masterpiece, but I greatly enjoyed it, too.
American Fan:
I would like to point out it is currently rated ONE point below Battle of the Writers.
Hmm? I'm seeing an average MDL rating of 7.4 for "BOTW" (no separate entry for uncut) vs. 7.3 for "Addicted Heroin" (7.5 for uncut), so almost identically rated - and not especially low (below 7) for either.
Given the amount of hate and moral crusading we saw regarding the ages of Mac and August right from their first announcement, before anything was even known about the series itself (and for goodness sake, this isn't a porno!), I'm actually surprised that the "moral disapproval effect" on the average MDL rating isn't more. From certain MDL comments from the haters, I got the impression that some hadn't even tried watching the series before pre-judging.