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Pinoy Ares
This review may contain spoilers
A GOOD 1000 YEARS LOVE STORY
I have to admit I initially got discouraged from watching this drama just because of the low rating, but once i started it, i just binged all episodes non-stop in one night. IT IS THAT ENJOYABLE! If you liked "I will Knock You", chances are you will like this too. Pun may be the greenest flag character in almost all of BL.
BL genre has fast evolved in the last few years - and so are the viewers. Nowadays, a lot of series without real substance gets good and high ratings even when the show isnt really deserving of it just by putting cutie cutie famous couples/stars in it or by putting a lot of shocking NSFW scenes . I will not put this one as one of the the best BL ever, but it certainly doesnt deserve to be in the low 6.
Just a quick recap. Yo is a university student who is fascinated by the extraordinary - thats why he became part of a gang of friends who are devoted UFO seekers, but deep inside his heart he knows something un-normal is happening in the world and he will discover that its not extraterrestrial in nature but something mystical. He was instantly drawn to Pun when he met him at a local eatery - was it love at first sight? Was it his mysterious demeanor? Then he adorably stalked him until Pun revealed to him what he is - a vampire! And you guessed it- this is how their love story began, and together with their friends and family they will prove that their love will conquer all odds. This just sounds about right, the end.
Eventhough the title of the series is '1000 Years Old' which pretty obviously tells us that one of the chracters is indeed an almost immortal, still the series managed to keep us guessing for the first half of the show if Pun is really what he says he is or just a weirdo who thinks he is something that he's not - after all he is not the familiar vampire we see from the lores - First, he is a poor vampire who lives in an old building. Second, he keeps saying he is burned by sunlight (SPOILER ALERT HE DOESNT) and always covers himself up fully and uses an umbrella . He is also not afraid of crucifixes, and he doesnt get burned by Holy Water. He aslo sleeps at night( not before the sun rises and in a coffin-like bed in a messy living room because the bedroom is his cat's room) Lastly and most importantly, he is not afraid of garlic and he also doesnt eat anything besides cooked Pork Blood Soup. He is weird but you just cant hate this guy!
One of the funny highlights for me was when he was trying to prove to Yo that he is a vampire and jumped off the building's rooftop!
Also, even if early in the series they showed a few flashback scenes from Pun's past, and even with the presence of another mysterious and scary character SoomChai - just like Yo, we as viewers still end up questioning whether he is really a true blooded bloodsucking immortal or was he just delusional?
While trying to hide the reality of Pun's true identity, the first half of the show felt like we were watching a Thai version of the Korean series "Start-up" when Pun and Yo and their newly formed gang were so focused on trying to make their food business succeed. The antics are so corny but you also cant help root for them!
It was around the later episodes when the truth was confirmed - that Pun is an alien.
Ok, he isnt an alien, but a real Vampire. The limited screentime of SoomChai is both annoying and effective - I would have loved to be bitten by that actor just like Shin. And as much as i hate it and just like a lot of other BL shows that create an annoying female character to be a villain, Janja's (she does look like a vampire seductress even without the fangs) presence is important in establishing the connection between Pun and Yo and the truth about their long history and past lives to make their love story seem more epic in scale and not just spur of the moment.
Let me also say that despite the many things that I enjoyed about the series it is not without shortcomings. First, for almost the entirety of the series nothing physical happens between the Pun and Yo (only a mild hint of a kiss) which is almost unbelievable. Second, I hate that the YOU.F.O and the gang were sidelined as if they never existed entirely when they were the group that opened the show. Third, the cluelessness of Pun's character to the current technologies is just unbearable and incredibly stupid (even if it was intentional to misdirect us about his true identity) like walking to mall, no idea how to get to point 1 to point 2, really? Fourth, Yo's contninuous denial about his feelings and Pun's intention to him is eyerolling.
Id like to end by saying that the final scene of Pun and Yo is genius but also both tragic and conflicting. While it was implied that they had a happy ending and they get to at least spend a really long time together in this lifetime, Yo's passing under the sunset is just so heartbreaking and it made me cry.
Overall its a 8.5 for me. Great leads and support with good direction , very rewatchable too.
BL genre has fast evolved in the last few years - and so are the viewers. Nowadays, a lot of series without real substance gets good and high ratings even when the show isnt really deserving of it just by putting cutie cutie famous couples/stars in it or by putting a lot of shocking NSFW scenes . I will not put this one as one of the the best BL ever, but it certainly doesnt deserve to be in the low 6.
Just a quick recap. Yo is a university student who is fascinated by the extraordinary - thats why he became part of a gang of friends who are devoted UFO seekers, but deep inside his heart he knows something un-normal is happening in the world and he will discover that its not extraterrestrial in nature but something mystical. He was instantly drawn to Pun when he met him at a local eatery - was it love at first sight? Was it his mysterious demeanor? Then he adorably stalked him until Pun revealed to him what he is - a vampire! And you guessed it- this is how their love story began, and together with their friends and family they will prove that their love will conquer all odds. This just sounds about right, the end.
Eventhough the title of the series is '1000 Years Old' which pretty obviously tells us that one of the chracters is indeed an almost immortal, still the series managed to keep us guessing for the first half of the show if Pun is really what he says he is or just a weirdo who thinks he is something that he's not - after all he is not the familiar vampire we see from the lores - First, he is a poor vampire who lives in an old building. Second, he keeps saying he is burned by sunlight (SPOILER ALERT HE DOESNT) and always covers himself up fully and uses an umbrella . He is also not afraid of crucifixes, and he doesnt get burned by Holy Water. He aslo sleeps at night( not before the sun rises and in a coffin-like bed in a messy living room because the bedroom is his cat's room) Lastly and most importantly, he is not afraid of garlic and he also doesnt eat anything besides cooked Pork Blood Soup. He is weird but you just cant hate this guy!
One of the funny highlights for me was when he was trying to prove to Yo that he is a vampire and jumped off the building's rooftop!
Also, even if early in the series they showed a few flashback scenes from Pun's past, and even with the presence of another mysterious and scary character SoomChai - just like Yo, we as viewers still end up questioning whether he is really a true blooded bloodsucking immortal or was he just delusional?
While trying to hide the reality of Pun's true identity, the first half of the show felt like we were watching a Thai version of the Korean series "Start-up" when Pun and Yo and their newly formed gang were so focused on trying to make their food business succeed. The antics are so corny but you also cant help root for them!
It was around the later episodes when the truth was confirmed - that Pun is an alien.
Ok, he isnt an alien, but a real Vampire. The limited screentime of SoomChai is both annoying and effective - I would have loved to be bitten by that actor just like Shin. And as much as i hate it and just like a lot of other BL shows that create an annoying female character to be a villain, Janja's (she does look like a vampire seductress even without the fangs) presence is important in establishing the connection between Pun and Yo and the truth about their long history and past lives to make their love story seem more epic in scale and not just spur of the moment.
Let me also say that despite the many things that I enjoyed about the series it is not without shortcomings. First, for almost the entirety of the series nothing physical happens between the Pun and Yo (only a mild hint of a kiss) which is almost unbelievable. Second, I hate that the YOU.F.O and the gang were sidelined as if they never existed entirely when they were the group that opened the show. Third, the cluelessness of Pun's character to the current technologies is just unbearable and incredibly stupid (even if it was intentional to misdirect us about his true identity) like walking to mall, no idea how to get to point 1 to point 2, really? Fourth, Yo's contninuous denial about his feelings and Pun's intention to him is eyerolling.
Id like to end by saying that the final scene of Pun and Yo is genius but also both tragic and conflicting. While it was implied that they had a happy ending and they get to at least spend a really long time together in this lifetime, Yo's passing under the sunset is just so heartbreaking and it made me cry.
Overall its a 8.5 for me. Great leads and support with good direction , very rewatchable too.
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