Has 'Not Me' ruined OffGun projects forever?

BL fans will ruin their own watching experience all because of one series.

People need to stop comparing every offgun series post-not me to that series. It is honestly depressing seeing people's reviews and comments here being flooded with complaints about how this series didn't match up to Not Me. Of course it didn't, they are completely different genres, styles, and stories. If you cannot watch a series without comparing it negatively from the very beginning to previous works, then why watch in the first place?

This series wasn't anything special, it's a typical GMMTV gay romance, there were parts of it that were less entertaining than others, however as a general series it was perfectly fine. It isn't the dumpster fire that so many of you retell it to be. I get it, Not Me was an incredible series, but it's also nearly 3 years old by now and some of you have not been able to enjoy a single series by offgun since that series it seems. Seriously guys, are you watching offgun to appreciate their efforts or to hate on them?

In terms of an actual review for this series, it wasn't the best, and it wasn't the worst. It is 'a middle of the road' series with fun side characters and interesting dynamics, and I love anything that has to do with the love language of food. I genuinely loved how sweet it was, the portrayal of emotions was honestly just to my taste and I don't regret watching it at all. Would I watch it again? Probably not. But does that take away from the joy I had watching from it? Absolutely not.

The hate towards Chang Ma is questionable considering I genuinely cannot understand what people think he did so wrong considering he had a crush on Prem and tested the boundaries of prem/ten's relationship, something MANY other characters in MANY BL have done before, yet y'all have an issue with him despite him genuinely having a good redemption arc, as well as genuinely respecting the boundaries once they were set? If anyone is to hate it's the b3 trio and their annoying laughs - they added literally nothing other than toxic rivalry, where some of it was necessary for plot progression, but other bits of it were just plain stupid. They should've been revealed for the bullies they were and kicked off that stupid show. Stupid ass side characters.

There were parts of the series that definitely could have been solved much faster with a basic little thing called "communication" (e.g the whole argument between prem/Dy/unky, and the whole "scamming" issue with Ten's dad) however the entire point of a drama like this is to have those dramatic scenes. I feel some people who watch series love to just complain, "it's too much unnecessary drama" or "it's sk bland there is nothing going on". I worry that series will never be enough for people, especially when a large selection of comments on any GMMTV BL is flooded with constant negativity.

People complained about Metha and Samsee's coupling not going anywhere, but I'd like to remind you all that not every single character that shows up has to be gay, or if they are gay then they don't have to be in a relationship with someone. Gay people can be friends with gay people without dating y'know lmao, but also, not every guy in these shows has to be gay.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the friendly rivalry they had was nothing like Fire and Dynamite, and I genuinely saw nothing between Metha and Samsee relationship-wise, they were just two side characters that happened to go together as a pair due to the relationships between their friends - nothing more. If anything I'm kinda glad Samsee ended up with Prem's sister, it makes for a nice change in pace honestly - I love the fact she had a crush on Samsee lol, a super good twist in the plot there.

I enjoyed seeing Off and Gun playing these types of roles again, and Off's portrayal of Ten took me back a lot to Theory of Love, the love-sick puppy character suits him well, and reminds me of Khai's attitude towards Third after realising his feelings for him. And equally, Gun suits all roles very well, he is good at playing characters who are more shy and reclused about their relationships, with a healthy sense of doubt and hesitance when someone like Off comes along overly friendly. Do I think some scenes were awkward? Yes. Did I think the awkwardness honestly suited the pair of young adults navigating their way through love? Absolutely.

Did I prefer fire and dynamite as a couple? Yes. Do I also have a bias towards side-couples in a lot of BL series? (Checks list) Yes. Yes I do. Because we don't get as much of a deep dive into a lot of side-couples and I think sometimes we prefer that in comparison to the over explanation and focus that happens for the main couple. (But also, fire and dynamite is such a lovely story despite the rollercoaster it went on, and the actors played them incredibly well. The ending to their plot line is honestly so well rounded out, especially with the mother.)

The storyline? Basic, nothing overly interesting, however the Thai BL industry has a lot of "school student" plot-lines, especially regarding either engineering or doctoring, so to see a chef plot was actually nice (the only other series I remember watching that had something to do with cooking was UWMA and even then that was a mild story-line in comparison).

I think it is hard to constantly live up to expectations, however I do believe offgun "fans" have shot themselves in the foot here. Instead of finding things they enjoyed about this series, they have instead focused so much on how different it is to Not Me, causing them to miss, well, EVERYTHING good about the series. It's a shame fans will miss everything all for one thing. If you want another series like Not Me, then look for those types of series rather than bashing smaller series like these that rely on cutesy styles and more of a focus on school life.

Feel free to disagree, but the fact is, y'all are already expecting their next series, the trainee, to flop all because of Not Me. Don't let your own expectations ruin a series for others, and don't bash the actors either. They are being directed by someone behind the scenes, and actually? A lot of them act very naturally. (Some of y'all just don't know what real human interaction looks like lmao /halfjoking)

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A series for thought and complexity

Honestly, I cannot understand the negative reviews with things to complain about. I am someone who enjoys complexity in morals and the difficulties of human relationships with each other, morals, desires, and greed. This is a series that touches on so many topics while still holding senses of morbidity, romance, and humour. The main couple, in my opinion, are fantastic and their characters are actually well thought through, from their backstory, to the way they grow up, and the way their history together effects their relationship in the future. the side characters have such a variety of relationships and struggles, with a real focus on classism (as a lot of K dramas seem to have - rich Vs poor, hard working Vs easy living).

I really loved this and honestly, it's one of the best zombie based series I have seen so far aside from maybe all of us are dead. The virus in this acts different from a lot of other series and I think it really allows for a lot of character and plot to be built on as even people who have been infected can continue on and have a hopeful happy ending. Bringing that bit of humanity to monster, and showing the monsters of humanity, it's truly a beautiful juxtaposition that makes you question so much.

the only thing I wish was that maybe they had left more time to fully establish the ending of other key characters like the antidote efficiency, what happens to the rich guy, what happen's to Han Taeseok's wife and child. there was a lot left undisclosed however it isn't too much of an issue for me personally as open endings often allow for own interpretation. I'll mention it as this may have been off putting for some people, yet this is the thing I have seen less addressed over "wah, they had plot armour as the main characters, how annoying".

TLDR; if you are looking for a series that you can sit down and mindlessly watch, I would say this isn't for you. if you go into this series mindlessly, you miss the entirety of its meaning and story. 10/10 would watch again and would recommend to people who value the art of storytelling. also, if you just want a zombie flic, this also isn't for you; this series is very much based on human interaction and the behaviours of people stuck together in a situation that is not exactly pleasant, with people who are even less pleasant. (I'm honestly tired of people going into series with an expectation and then rating it lower all because it wasn't like the others they watched - that is a good thing.)

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