I REALLY loved the first half of the series. I wish I liked the second half as much as the first. Overall, this show was fine and I appreciate that Idol Factory took a chance with something completely new to BL. I respect the ambition of the production team for trying to tell multi-genre story that also incorporated mythology. But for me, the concept was better than the execution. I've seen too many great cop and crime themed series not to feel let down by this one. And the mythological aspects weren't fleshed out enough for them to feel plausibly connected to the world of the story. But maybe the bad CGI is the real issue.
Many episodes were way too long, some actors did a great job, while others were given little to do, or were clearly amateurs who weren't given strong direction. The one note villains decreased my engagement as the story progressed. Great stories need great villains. I also ended up caring more about Yai, Khem and Thongthai than I did about Phaya and Tharn. Unfortunately for me, those 3 were given little to do and barely any character progression.
I also think the show did a fantastic job generating interest in the series using social media. With BL views continuing to decrease when compared to a few years ago, it's good that some shows are bringing in newer audiences. But if you've only seen a small amount of series, your opinion on what you just saw will have a different frame of reference than someone who's been watching BL for a long time. IMO neither perspective is better than the other or "right". But when some people decide that only one perspective can be shared and discussed, it really diminishes the series.
Art is subjective. There is no series that every person agrees is great. And if you can't accept that, instead of trying to silence people who disagree with your perspective, maybe you could try to better understand other perspectives, broaden your knowledge of the genre or experience more content. Driving away viewers who disagree with you doesn't help the actors or companies. Without viewers, BL can't exist.
If this gets a season 2, I don't think watch it. Not because of some toxic "fans", but I don't trust the writers to tell a compelling story in a way that isn't weighed down with too much filler and too much focus on side stories that don't add much to the plot. But mostly because I can't recall the last time I saw a Thai BL sequel that was as good as the first season.
That's okay, I always appreciate your comments. Bring 'em on! (I'm putting mine in the review section.)
Aww thank you! I just don't feel like arguing about a tv show I'm not that invested in with people who disagree with my opinion, so I'm just moving on from the series. Commenting here is fun until it turns into personal attacks.
Good idea! Leaving nuanced comments in the review section might be the smart move for shows with deeply entrenched fandoms.
Since I know this page tends to have a lot of very vocal commenters who don't like to read opinions that don't align completely with theirs and I'm not in the mood to be attacked today for daring to write a nuanced comment, I'll just say I liked the series.
Jinta was by far my favorite character. And I enjoyed all of the 6 main actors. I really loved seeing TayNew together in a series again. In 2019 Dark Blue Kiss was my most anticipated series. Cherry Magic was my most anticipated series for 2023. Out of all of the versions of Cherry Magic that exist, this is not my favorite. But I'm glad I watched it.
glad you got through it! haha maybe they were hoping for pepper to make this couple and thus this series to blow…
I didn't even remember who Pepper was when I was watching. I don't want to be mean, but I didn't get leading man vibes from either of them.
It's hard to have anything nice to say about the "acting" from the kid who played Rak. If he went through normal casting and got the job, the people who cast him should never get to work in the industry again. I feel bad that he had to endure those kisses though. NO ONE deserves that!
I'm glad too. It is uniquely bad and 100% must see for anyone looking for a bad but also incredible series. Idk what can top this 🤔
I loved it! Everything about it was so good and so real. The backstories, the work, the wind chime and tomatoes.…
If you've never worked in an office, I can see why some people might find this boring. But for anyone who has or had a time in their life when they had young life crisis or awakening, this show is super relateable.
We know not every BL is for everyone, so if this topic doesn't interest that's fine. But hopefully you can also understand that in a genre that's always been dominated by stories of high school and college, for some of us, it's nice to watch stories about life after college once in a while.
I loved it! Everything about it was so good and so real. The backstories, the work, the wind chime and tomatoes. As much as I love Kai and Hiro being together, Hiro resigning was THE BEST PART of the series for me. Work should not define you or take up your whole life. I'm so happy he's free!!
P.S. I know it will never happen, but i would love to see a spin off or special episode where the old man raises young Kai and teaches him how to cook. Those two are so precious together.
I really liked the 2nd episode. The 4 main characters are likeable. The flashbacks made me want to know more about what happened between Achi and Ji and the dog is so adorable. It's also nice to see real actors and an actual script. Both are REALLY rare in Thai BLs these days
I finally watched this years later and I feel bad for BrightWin fans. The 20 minutes of new content really shows how great this could have been if the entire movie was new content. But it ended up being a glorifed recap with no heart.
Also, if you show a ring box early in a movie and there are no rings in it, you've insulted your audience. But these are the same people who thought guiters and high fives equal romance, so I won't act surprised. I wish Bright and Win had done another BL before Bright left the company. They have really nice chemistry together.
Thank you🙏!!! All that and then some LMAO I thought I was legit going crazy and, heaven help me, went back…
I went back to the previous episode too, I'm still sooooo confused. I've stuck with it mainly bc it's the only new BL that airs on Tuesdays, so it's something to watch. And even though it's awful, it doesn't make me angry like some other bad series.
Ok for real, does anyone know what's happening? I think the main characters are named Foam and Chris and I spent all of episode 8 trying to figure why the one guy was so drunk and sad while the other guy was "learning to be an actor". I will know once and for all that the BL gods truly hate us if this doesn't end up being the worst show of 2024. How can anything be worse than this?!?!?!?
But 2 important things did happen this week. I found out how all of these crappy BL companies "train" their future actors. Some random old lady finds you at a restaurant and decides you can move into her house as long as you take some clasees. After a few classes of WALKING, you're ready to debut, now it all makes sense!! Also, it's only February, but Time won the award for longest outdoor sex scene in BL history. Some porn scenes are shorter than that.
I found this while on my quest to watch all of the truly awful Thai BLs I can find. And this one never disappointed!!!
The sound effects🙉, incessant music🙉, worst acting from a lead character I've seen🤦♀️, Sotus😕, omelets🤔, almost sexual assault😡, mental breakdown😯, POV cam 🤢, cherries🤢, doughnuts🤢, extremely red flag lead seme😒 and vomit inducing kisses🤮, this show had it all! Idk what I can say, I was stunned, shocked, offended, disgusted and I can't remember the last time I've laughed so much while watching a series.
I pitied Rak for the first half of the series, but once it became clear that he had Dino completely wrapped around his finger, I was in awe. The only people who NEED to see this are those horny viewers who want to see hookup scenes and constant kissing in every single series. Those people should be forced to watch this on repeat for a year if they ever bash a decent series with no kisses.
This is one of the few terrible series that has the MDL rating it deserves. I'm convinced this show would have at least a 7.5 rating here if the leads were a popular ship or if they blew up on social media.
Chalam is the real MVP. He was the only good thing about the series.
This was so wonderful. I've been watching Strongberry mini series forever and the never disappoint. If Strongyberry…
Present day Hyun spends the 3 episodes reading his diary and remembering their high school days. And at the end Dong Ho shows up at that bookstore where Hyun has been waiting for him. That's the happy ending, all those years later they're still together.
I only wish I knew what Hyun wrote when he crossed out the last sentence of the page.
This was so wonderful. I've been watching Strongberry mini series forever and the never disappoint. If Strongyberry had more funding, they'd be the biggest company in BL. I love it when series highlight the complex emotions kids deal with. Both actors were great.
I know people are sad about the "open ending" but it didn't feel open for me...
1 
Many episodes were way too long, some actors did a great job, while others were given little to do, or were clearly amateurs who weren't given strong direction. The one note villains decreased my engagement as the story progressed. Great stories need great villains. I also ended up caring more about Yai, Khem and Thongthai than I did about Phaya and Tharn. Unfortunately for me, those 3 were given little to do and barely any character progression.
I also think the show did a fantastic job generating interest in the series using social media. With BL views continuing to decrease when compared to a few years ago, it's good that some shows are bringing in newer audiences. But if you've only seen a small amount of series, your opinion on what you just saw will have a different frame of reference than someone who's been watching BL for a long time. IMO neither perspective is better than the other or "right". But when some people decide that only one perspective can be shared and discussed, it really diminishes the series.
Art is subjective. There is no series that every person agrees is great. And if you can't accept that, instead of trying to silence people who disagree with your perspective, maybe you could try to better understand other perspectives, broaden your knowledge of the genre or experience more content. Driving away viewers who disagree with you doesn't help the actors or companies. Without viewers, BL can't exist.
If this gets a season 2, I don't think watch it. Not because of some toxic "fans", but I don't trust the writers to tell a compelling story in a way that isn't weighed down with too much filler and too much focus on side stories that don't add much to the plot. But mostly because I can't recall the last time I saw a Thai BL sequel that was as good as the first season.
Good idea! Leaving nuanced comments in the review section might be the smart move for shows with deeply entrenched fandoms.
Jinta was by far my favorite character. And I enjoyed all of the 6 main actors. I really loved seeing TayNew together in a series again. In 2019 Dark Blue Kiss was my most anticipated series. Cherry Magic was my most anticipated series for 2023. Out of all of the versions of Cherry Magic that exist, this is not my favorite. But I'm glad I watched it.
It's hard to have anything nice to say about the "acting" from the kid who played Rak. If he went through normal casting and got the job, the people who cast him should never get to work in the industry again. I feel bad that he had to endure those kisses though. NO ONE deserves that!
I'm glad too. It is uniquely bad and 100% must see for anyone looking for a bad but also incredible series. Idk what can top this 🤔
We know not every BL is for everyone, so if this topic doesn't interest that's fine. But hopefully you can also understand that in a genre that's always been dominated by stories of high school and college, for some of us, it's nice to watch stories about life after college once in a while.
P.S. I know it will never happen, but i would love to see a spin off or special episode where the old man raises young Kai and teaches him how to cook. Those two are so precious together.
Kurosawa died. I can't wait to watch 🥰
It was spectacularly bad and loved every terrible minute of it!!!!
Also, if you show a ring box early in a movie and there are no rings in it, you've insulted your audience. But these are the same people who thought guiters and high fives equal romance, so I won't act surprised. I wish Bright and Win had done another BL before Bright left the company. They have really nice chemistry together.
But it does make my brain hurt.
But 2 important things did happen this week. I found out how all of these crappy BL companies "train" their future actors. Some random old lady finds you at a restaurant and decides you can move into her house as long as you take some clasees. After a few classes of WALKING, you're ready to debut, now it all makes sense!! Also, it's only February, but Time won the award for longest outdoor sex scene in BL history. Some porn scenes are shorter than that.
Why am I still watching this 😩
The sound effects🙉, incessant music🙉, worst acting from a lead character I've seen🤦♀️, Sotus😕, omelets🤔, almost sexual assault😡, mental breakdown😯, POV cam 🤢, cherries🤢, doughnuts🤢, extremely red flag lead seme😒 and vomit inducing kisses🤮, this show had it all! Idk what I can say, I was stunned, shocked, offended, disgusted and I can't remember the last time I've laughed so much while watching a series.
I pitied Rak for the first half of the series, but once it became clear that he had Dino completely wrapped around his finger, I was in awe. The only people who NEED to see this are those horny viewers who want to see hookup scenes and constant kissing in every single series. Those people should be forced to watch this on repeat for a year if they ever bash a decent series with no kisses.
This is one of the few terrible series that has the MDL rating it deserves. I'm convinced this show would have at least a 7.5 rating here if the leads were a popular ship or if they blew up on social media.
Chalam is the real MVP. He was the only good thing about the series.
I only wish I knew what Hyun wrote when he crossed out the last sentence of the page.
But that's just my interpretation.
I know people are sad about the "open ending" but it didn't feel open for me...