Found Family Trope

I really liked the found family trope in this drama. I’m a sucker for it. And when it’s mixed with supernatural and humor? Then I’m all the more for it! Also, that Yeo Rin was all “I’m here to save my man!” at the end? W00t! That’s so up my alley because I love it when the usual cliché gender roles are flipped!

Also, this was the first drama that I’ve seen where Choi Won Young played the good guy. Gosh, he’s so good as as one of the good guys. Why have I only seen him playing baddies so far? Unfair!

I have to say, though, it was good that the drama only had 12 eps. As it was, I ended up fast-forwarding through some of their shenanigans, through bits where the drama went too far and slipped from humorous into silly. So, I’m glad that they didn’t go for the usual 16 because I can’t even imagine what silly padding they would’ve used.

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A Noona Story

This drama took the trope of an unapproachable man and the sweet girl who saves him - a trope so prevalent and much loved in Western cinema - and turned it on its head. Here we got Shin Joo Yeon, a 33-year-old female fashion marketing director, brutal in her ways of speaking and reserved to downright cold in her emotional expressions, and Joo Wan, a 26-year-old male songwriter in touch with his heart and with the world around him - and very much in love with Shing-Shing, as he calls her. It’s basically the story of Kai and Gerda, just reversed, where Joo Wan has to help Shin Joo Yeon learn how to cry again and thaw her heart.

This drama features two of my favorite tropes: cold woman/warm man and older woman/younger man. There’s much emotional hurt on Joo Wan’s part in this - on Shin Joo Yeon’s too but for different reasons - because Shin Joo Yeon is very harsh to him, especially in the beginning and only his love for her and his determination to see her happy - whether with him or with someone else truly worthy of her doesn’t matter to Joo Wan - keeps him going and sticking by her side. It’s a fun and funny story but also very emotional and sweet with a really wonderful OST.

I watched it mainly because my favorite Thai actor, New Thitipoom, will star in the Tai remake as the male lead - and I’m sure he’s going to be absolutely glorious because these parts suit him perfectly! - but I ended up loving the drama for its own sake. It’s definitely worth it if you want to watch a bit different love story.

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After a slow start, this turned out to be a really great series. I felt that it gave all the characters and all the couples space and time enough to grow - though for once, I didn’t fall for the main couple (BohnDuen) but for the secondary one (KingRam).

I truly fell in love for KingRam and their odd yet so fitting relationship: King, who was used to plants as his companions, fell hard for Ram who rarely talked; and Ram, who preferred the company of his dogs, found someone who truly got him without him needing to say anything at all in King. Also, King sure got his share of whump, so there was that, hah!

But the main couple, BohnDuen, I didn’t like how their issues were resolved. It felt too little, too late. Maybe it’ll be addressed in S2 - one can always hope - but I doubt it. It’s strange that the writers did such a great job with KingRam yet they - at least in my opinion - fumbled the main couple so much. Huh.

I’m definitely looking forward to S2 and to more KingRam and also FrongThara. Because Frong is in for an uphill battle with Thara who is very kind and sweet - but also the biggest oddball of them all. Also, I hope to see Ting Ting finally get herself a boyfriend - Tang, if there’s any justice at all in the world! Can’t wait!

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Well, you can’t really call this a “series”, it’s actually just a 2 episode special with Mean & Plan playing their characters from ReminderS, Two & Wish. And I liked it. There was some angst, sure, but overall it was more of a slice-of-life story set some time after their graduation with Two having a successful career by then & Wish being still unemployed and feeling like a burden to his hard-working lover.

I liked how different 2Wish was from TinCan, the other pairing these two actors are famous for. And I especially loved Mean’s portrayal of Two because I really, truly believed that Two was head over heels in love with Wish and it was sweet and wonderful. Mean sure is a great actor.

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Now there was an oddball of a drama. Dead bodies everywhere, literally - I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many corpses in such a short drama before - shoot-outs that could rival Hollywood blockbusters and the CIA, of course. And Taemin with blue hair and blue eyes. Also lens flares. JJ Abrams would’ve been proud!

I liked the drama. For all its weirdness I still liked it because it was intriguing and action-filled and had a lot of whump in it. Seriously, this is one huge whump fest. I do wish that they put more effort into the relationship between Sion & Ryo but I still didn’t feel like Ryo’s decision to fulfill Sion’s last wish at all cost came out of left field or something, I still understood why Ryo did what he did, so…

And, this being a Japanese show, ambivalent ending, of course. Because why not, right? Make of it whatever you want. Typical, ha!

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Goodness gracious, Korn & Knock are one of the hottest BL couples out there, hands down, and their actors, Max & Tul, certainly have no constraints when it comes to portraying love scenes. Woo, boy, is it hot here? I mean, these two…

The story itself was also interesting, especially the vindictiveness of the various girlfriends, Knock’s in particular. Murder Club 101! They sure went the extra mile to get revenge. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I hate cheating and cheaters but, girls, just break up with them, that’s enough. Especially when you’re not all that innocent yourself. On the other hand, it sure made the story more interesting…

I also loved all the friendships in this series. Especially Yiwha was amazing, the way she rooted for Korn and Knock, her friendship with Korn, her determination to prove that Knock’s girlfriend was an evil mastermind… Great girl, that one.

I’m aware that there’s a certain controversy surrounding the plot of S2 but I will still watch it because a) Korn & Knock are burning hot and b) Max & Tul are just great in these roles. Needs must.

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The tone of the second season was very much different from the first one. The first one was all humor and mad shenanigans. The second one was about how their relationships changed when, well, life got in the way: classes, internships, long distance…

My favorite part was the Pick & Rome arc. Because they actually got a real arc this time around. And it was a suspenseful one! Whereas Emma & Porsche got the “life got in the way” arc, Pick & Rome had to deal with an obsessive stalker who was trying to drive them apart. Especially Off Jumpol could really flex his acting muscles here. And by the end of the drama, I could honestly say that I added Pick & Rome to my list of favorite BL couples.

My favorite ep was definitely the finale because we had the chance to see them all together again, to watch them actually talk and deal with their issues like the adults they were. And the drama is truly at its best when the gang is together.

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This was a sweet, funny and feel-good series. The four leads were hilarious and their friendship heartwarming, and both the het couple and the gay couple were precious. The actors pulled it off so well, both the madhat shenanigans and the feels.

This was only my second drama with either Gun Atthaphan or Off Jumpol after Theory of Love where they also portrayed a couple and their relationship in this one was rather similar, though not as angsty, I would say, at least not here. From what I understand, it gets angstier in the sequel, so…

Also, the female lead was played by Cherreen Nachjaree who played ChaAim in Love By Chance. ChaAim and Pond are probably my favorite het couple in Thai dramas, and Cherreen was just as sweet and amazing here.

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I must say that this has been my least favorite Kamen Rider Build outing so far.

I get that this was a Banjo Ryuga vehicle and Cross-Z was given the chance to shine for once but that Sento was totally sidelined, as in, he didn't leave the lab even once during the whole movie... IMHO, that was taking it one unnecessary step too far.

Another reason why I didn't like this event as much was the roughly shoehorned love interest for Banjo. Female characters who are made to punch and kick men for the viewers' LULZ are really not my cuppa and she just really irritated me. Like, she blamed Banjo for not saving her in the middle of a big battle while he was fighting alien creatures, outnumbered several to one? I mean, he might be a Kamen Rider but he's not Superman!

The best moment for me was when Banjo called Sento his hero and he found in him his inspiration and strength to get up and fight. That was cool!

Overall, I'm glad that their loved ones finally remembered Sento and Banjo but overall, it kinda left a bit of a foul aftertaste in my mouth, for the above-mentioned reasons. It didn't feel like Build anymore.

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This drama had a great premise - and it featured Earth Pirapat, so yay! - but it just didn't click with me much. The characters' reactions always seemed a bit... off for me and the last two eps, almost twice the length of a normal episode, dragged terribly. So even though it only had 10 eps, it still felt too long.

There was nothing inherently wrong with this drama and it felt quite ambitious because it tried do squeeze so much into the story - from various social issues to ecology - and there was only one pairing so the story wasn't scattered all over the place but it still felt... well, off. It's hard to describe why. It just bored me a little.

Still, I'm giving it 7/10 for its ambitiousness and for definitely telling a different kind of a story from the usual university shenanigans.

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A really good drama with two very different pairings that went through very different experiences. One was your typical friends to lovers lovey dovey coffee shop pairing - Licheng & Muren - the other had much, much darker undertones of non-con and incest - Xingsi & Yongjie. I started the drama for Licheng & Muren and they were cute and hot and sweet - but their story was also nothing new, nothing I haven't seen done a dozen times over, so in the end who caught my attention more were the step-brothers Xingsi & Yongjie. Now that was a pairing I haven't seen done yet.

Their parents married when Xingsi was in high school and Yongjie in elementary school - and Yongjie very early on decided that he would make Xingsi his one day. I'm not really sure if Yongjie was borderline sociopath or psychopath, there was definitely something off about his mental state and I wish the drama dug at least a little bit into that beside a word dropped here and there because it was apparent that their whole family knew that he wasn't exactly... well, sound.

What fascinated me was that the drama didn't skirt the fact that what Yongjie did to Xingsi that one weekend at the sea was wrong - just like his mom was wrong for knowing about it and not stopping him - and that Xingsi decided to forgive them so easily? That wasn't because they deserved it or whatever but because it's who he was, too kind for his own good and they all knew it.

Another thing that fascinated me was that the fact they were step-brothers wasn't just brushed over. Xingsi's father never accepted it, not truly, that Xingsi and Yongjie became lovers, he only gave them his blessing because they were dead set on doing it anyway but without his blessing, Xingsi would've been forever miserable - like I said, they all knew what Xingsi was like. And the father's love for his flesh and blood was stronger than his aversion to their relationship.

Also, I loved that even though Xingsi insisted that he truly loved Yongjie, there was still the lingering question if his feelings changed from brotherly to romantic freely or if he let Yongjie manipulate him which was what his step-mom and his dad feared.

Goodness, what a fascinating story!

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This movie could easily rival Hollywood blockbusters with its scale, action sequences and CGI. There were big shoot-outs, smart-ass robots, everybody’s favorite found family trope with an adorable little kid to boot...

One thing that I adored was that the movie didn’t adopt English as the universal future world language. They all spoke in their own native tongues using universal translators. What a smart idea. Sure, it took a while to get used to - personally, I’m used to watching a movie/series in one language so after a while I can follow its melody, its flow which meant that I had to pay close attention here but I didn’t mind. It was a really interesting idea.

Two things I wished they explored more in-depth were both connected to Sullivan: a) why/how did Cpt. Jang tried to kill Sullivan and b) the fact that Kim Tae Ho was the only child soldier that Sullivan had a personal connection with. Those two things felt like wasted opportunities.

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Worth for the Secondary Pairings

I’ve made my peace with the fact that I’ll never understand nor join the Br@ghtWin/S@rawaTine hype and that it’s okay, to each their own. Luckily, the secondary pairings saved this drama for me: ManType, DimGreen, MilPhukong and even BossPear.

I think my favorite pairing was ManType because Man turned out to be the bestest boyfriend who ever lived and I loved that. He was so happy for and supportive of Type when Type got his promotion even though it meant for Type to move way way away. He was all, “It’s okay, do your thing, once I’m done with school, I’ll follow you.” And for that he deserved an award!

My favorite moment was when Sarawat found out that Mil was dating Phukong. That was absolutely, positively, belly-achingly hilarious. His reaction to it - and to the fact that both Boss and Man knew! I laughed so hard!

I loved that the secondary pairings were each so different and their stories so interesting. Even Boss & Pear’s and that’s saying something because hetero ships in BL stories are hit-n-miss for me. Thumbs up!

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This was, I think, the youngest cast Thai BL I’ve seen so far. Which made some of the more explicit scenes rather uncomfortable to watch, to be honest. But the actors were amazing, that’s true.

Here I’ll probably once again go against the fandom grain, so to speak, because I liked TeeFuse more than FrameBook. FrameBook seems to be, from what I’ve seen here on Tumblr, the pairing of this drama. I don’t know. For me personally, they didn’t click as much as TeeFuse. And Tee in particular.

It’s true that I didn’t like how Tee started his relationship with Fuse. Sure, Fuse verbally agreed to have sex and he was very enthusiastic about the whole thing - but he was also very drunk. There is that. But I liked that Tee owned up to that. He apologized and took full responsibility and got out of Tee’s way, he didn’t try to pursue him further. No, afterwards, it was Fuse who needed to win Tee over again. But there was this minor fact that he had a girlfriend and, well, basically he wanted the cake and eat it too. Which kept hurting Tee a lot. And the actor, Boom Krittapak, played it incredibly well.

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I don’t like stories about cheating and cheaters and this whole drama is centered around that - but it’s also very well acted. Especially Max Nattapol did a fantastic job with his part, you could truly feel Korn’s soft fondness of Knock and then his despair, his visceral need to make everything right.

So, even though the storyline wasn’t really my cuppa - though it dealt with some very important subjects that every person who finishes school and starts working faces - I loved it for Max and Tul and their chemistry which is always out of this world, it truly is. I would love to get another season with them!

Also, the music was fantastic. The main song was sung by the actress playing Yihwa and it’s simply marvelous

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