This review may contain spoilers
A remake
As remakes go, I felt like this one wasn't needed. However, while a lot of it felt too compressed for a story about parallel worlds, I liked the ending better than the original. We actually got a resolution. I didn't like the original very much because it didn't explain the space between the parallel worlds at all, and I like to understand Sci-fi & fantasy elements of a story, not just go with the flow with no hope of understanding. The ending of the original was also, for lack of a better word, shit. By the end of that series, we should have seen the mother get everything she deserved and more, but no, let's just trade one son for the other. (This still pisses me off) At least in this one, we get to see the mother have a downfall, even though it was very quick and not nearly satisfying enough. Still, it was better than the original.
Another thing that I liked over the original is that I felt that Shoma fit the role of Sara/Cir more than Boss. Maybe that's because I'm so used to seeing Boss in more commanding and alpha man roles that it just felt wrong to see him play an obsessive stalker. Shoma kind of has that same aura, but it didn't feel like he lost it in this role; he downplayed it a bit. Maybe it's less noticeable because of the smaller cast? Not sure. To me, he just fit the role better.
I really do think the original is better in almost every way, and you can tell the budget was way higher. Honestly, if it's not a Thai series, I don't expect the budget to be very high for a BL drama. Compared to the budget for other Japanese series, I would say this runs somewhere in the middle.
On to the stalking. I think when it came up in the original, I was past the point of caring, but in this one I was suitably unsettled. If I had been in Fuu's shoes, I would have been freaked out and would have probably been scared to be alone. They make the stalking out to be a form of caring for a person you love, but can't be with & we should just look over it. We can't. Or at least I can't. At least in this version it felt like Sara wasn't as unhinged, and it really was just the only way he could think of to show he cared and to keep himself going. Sara knowing so much about Fuu was scarier than Cir, though. In the original, however, I was really scared for Phukan. Cir felt like he was a danger to Phukan and himself. The boy had mental problems. It felt like if the relationship went south, then Cir would do something completely unhinged.
I will say that I really like that Shoma & Takuto have done 2 BossNoeul remakes. Normally in dramas from countries outside Thailand, I don't see many actors reappearing in a series together. It was honestly a little weird in a good way. I would like to see these two in their own series together, not just a remake.
If you were satisfied with the Thai version, I don't think there's any need to watch this remake, and if, like me, you are hoping for a better series, you are most likely going to be disappointed. That being said, I don't regret watching it.
Another thing that I liked over the original is that I felt that Shoma fit the role of Sara/Cir more than Boss. Maybe that's because I'm so used to seeing Boss in more commanding and alpha man roles that it just felt wrong to see him play an obsessive stalker. Shoma kind of has that same aura, but it didn't feel like he lost it in this role; he downplayed it a bit. Maybe it's less noticeable because of the smaller cast? Not sure. To me, he just fit the role better.
I really do think the original is better in almost every way, and you can tell the budget was way higher. Honestly, if it's not a Thai series, I don't expect the budget to be very high for a BL drama. Compared to the budget for other Japanese series, I would say this runs somewhere in the middle.
On to the stalking. I think when it came up in the original, I was past the point of caring, but in this one I was suitably unsettled. If I had been in Fuu's shoes, I would have been freaked out and would have probably been scared to be alone. They make the stalking out to be a form of caring for a person you love, but can't be with & we should just look over it. We can't. Or at least I can't. At least in this version it felt like Sara wasn't as unhinged, and it really was just the only way he could think of to show he cared and to keep himself going. Sara knowing so much about Fuu was scarier than Cir, though. In the original, however, I was really scared for Phukan. Cir felt like he was a danger to Phukan and himself. The boy had mental problems. It felt like if the relationship went south, then Cir would do something completely unhinged.
I will say that I really like that Shoma & Takuto have done 2 BossNoeul remakes. Normally in dramas from countries outside Thailand, I don't see many actors reappearing in a series together. It was honestly a little weird in a good way. I would like to see these two in their own series together, not just a remake.
If you were satisfied with the Thai version, I don't think there's any need to watch this remake, and if, like me, you are hoping for a better series, you are most likely going to be disappointed. That being said, I don't regret watching it.
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