Just watched the first episode and am already hyped up for the rest.
Ok, so there are plenty of coming of age series but this one hits differently. From the original locations to the fly on the wall documentary vibe in some places, the feel good minimalist riffs of the background music and Fou4mod's cheerfully eccentric mother, there is something that really keeps you engaged 😀
I've been wanting to catch this for some time and it seems to be living up to its promise.
The actor playing Fan Xiao somehow reminds me a little of Pond, but I don't think Pond has ever played such a shameless and manipulative character.
If he has, please let me know. I want to watch that series.
Only on Episode 3 so far, but I already agree with the review that suggested this series might turn out to be even more engaging than Revenged Love.
To be fair to Fan Xiao, it's clear he has been traumatised after experiencing a tsunami when very young, one in which his mother died. In addition, he's been discriminated against by his own siblings due to being the son of a mistress/concubine rather than a father's official wife. This doesn't necessarily excuse his behaviour, but at least it provides a significant back story.
Wasn't his character in Memories or Rati mean and toxic? I haven't watched it yet btw, I only heard people saying…
Actually, his character in Memoirs of Rati is a very decent, charming and caring young man. It's his character's father who is mean and toxic, which is very embarrassing for him.
Hope you will enjoy watching Memoirs of Rati. It's an engaging and well made period BL drama.
Ngl, after seeing Boom give a number of convincing performances as sensible, emotionally mature and low key charming dudes: it's fun to watch Raffy being such a badass brat in this series.
After 4 episodes this seems to be turning out well. Looking forward to the hiccups in Episode 5
Naming Wayu's nephew Singto made me grin and seems like a nice touch 😀, though I suppose that's the name in the original novel as well.
It's so good to see Up impressing by playing a less badass character than the one he portrayed in My Stand In.
Great performance from Poom as well. We've really missed out on him as he only started doing BL roles a few years ago. The guy looks great and seems to be able to act convincingly too 👍
The first two episodes were certainly promising. I think the flirting and intimacy are more daring than they might have been in the earlier version.
It's interesting to compare the university dormitory in this and the one in Feel What You Feel. Same layout, but the Double Helix one has a more chic vibe despite being just a standard four person room.
Someone has already mentioned that they hope this version will have a happy ending ultimately. I'm definitely with them on that. Let's hope for the best. It looks as if there's going to be plenty of heartache along the way, so a happy ending wouldn't be totally unrealistic.
I had to look away when fingernails and a finger were being removed, but otherwise Episode 1 was entertaining and promising. Some of the triad members had a slightly comic air despite the violence.
Having Cantonese as the original language adds a kind of exotic touch compared to other BL series.
He Chusan may have come across as a timid nerd, but there seemed to be some signposting of his future role. He gave the impression of being quite distracted when Xia Luiyi was partying close to him in the nightclub while he was trying to rewrite his script lol
Can only comment on Episode 1 so far, which is racy and high octane straight off.
With Earth slaying as a hot drama nerd, Joss slaying with his haircut (apart from anything else) , Boom playing a more forward character with a slight badass vibe and Gawin doing something a bit different without losing his usual charm, we're in for an exciting time.
And that's not to mention Mix in dominant mode and Yacht providing support with his usual individual style.
It looks as if it's going to be even more of a rollercoaster ride than Season 1. Bring it on !
I usually wait until Cat for Cash has aired so I can watch it after to wind down, but I was too impatient today…
Yes, I have the same kind of routine. When I watch an episode of Yesterday, I make sure I can pair it with something that's more of a comfort series later on in the evening.
Thank you for writing such a comprehensive and discerning review. I agree with you saying the story knows what it's doing and takes its time doing it properly.
I have seen it described elsewhere as a depressing story, but the ending is both heartwarming and convincing. For example, the fact that Hirukawa overcame his demons, got into university and made the films he had wanted to make were achievements that underlined this.
Tbh my first impression of this series was it would be a bit juvenile to stay with. However, Tee Tee's acting skills have helped his character to stay just on the right side of cringe with the result Duang comes across as both endearing and hilarious. He certainly makes me laugh a lot despite some of the silly noises sound effects 😀
It's interesting to see the contrast between Qin's view of people hitting on him and the attitude of the younger brother character Por played in Your Sky.
Overall I enjoyed watching this and stayed interested all the way through. Like some other people, I found the plot confusing for a time but that wasn't enough to spoil the series for me.
In addition to things like the cinematography and the obvious chemistry between Force and Book, one thing I really appreciated was how full use was made of the final episode. Quite often the last part of a series doesn't contain a lot of worthwhile content. In this case, however, the loose ends were tied up in a moving, convincing way. You felt that the marriage of the main characters was definitely a well deserved conclusion.
The composer of the incidental music deserves a shout out too. From the lush, sweeping, romantic melodies that reappeared at moments of emotional intensity to the minimalist pulses that punctuated some scenes, it was a memorable big screen soundtrack that added a lot.
This series was innovative, engaging and well put together in a number of ways: the cinematography, the music - from the electronic to the Sufjan Stevens type numbers and the sophisticated sort of indie vibe.
In previous roles, Off hasn't been seen spending much time walking around in his underwear. Once you got used to.this new habit, you realised that it was just a normal part of the rather individual new kind of character he created in the series.
I found the ending convincing enough. Koh and Jira were obviously a match in terms of passion. It was also clear enough that Jira was more into bad boys. However, this wasn't your typical happy ending. Koh and Jira were going to have to compromise in various ways to make things work. The basic foundation was there, but they would need to focus hard on making it stronger.
So I'm wondering whether I have understood Kelvin's family situation now.
Kelvin's mother was probably the daughter of the grandfather he mentioned. In other words, she was an heiress.
Katha, Kelvin's father, married her for his future career prospects and financial security.
Before Katha married Kelvin's mother, he had already had Ken with someone else. After Kelvin's mother died, Ken and Ken's mother were installed as wife and son and Kelvin ended up in an orphanage until he was 18.
If that's Kelvin's back story, then it certainly explains why he feels he feels he has been cheated and is out for revenge.
It doesn't explain his crazy obsession with Veir, but I suppose if you feel nobody loves you that might make you weird on top of all the other reasons for feeling insecure.
Ok, so there are plenty of coming of age series but this one hits differently. From the original locations to the fly on the wall documentary vibe in some places, the feel good minimalist riffs of the background music and Fou4mod's cheerfully eccentric mother, there is something that really keeps you engaged 😀
I've been wanting to catch this for some time and it seems to be living up to its promise.
If he has, please let me know. I want to watch that series.
Only on Episode 3 so far, but I already agree with the review that suggested this series might turn out to be even more engaging than Revenged Love.
To be fair to Fan Xiao, it's clear he has been traumatised after experiencing a tsunami when very young, one in which his mother died. In addition, he's been discriminated against by his own siblings due to being the son of a mistress/concubine rather than a father's official wife. This doesn't necessarily excuse his behaviour, but at least it provides a significant back story.
Hope you will enjoy watching Memoirs of Rati. It's an engaging and well made period BL drama.
Naming Wayu's nephew Singto made me grin and seems like a nice touch 😀, though I suppose that's the name in the original novel as well.
It's so good to see Up impressing by playing a less badass character than the one he portrayed in My Stand In.
Great performance from Poom as well. We've really missed out on him as he only started doing BL roles a few years ago. The guy looks great and seems to be able to act convincingly too 👍
It's interesting to compare the university dormitory in this and the one in Feel What You Feel. Same layout, but the Double Helix one has a more chic vibe despite being just a standard four person room.
Someone has already mentioned that they hope this version will have a happy ending ultimately. I'm definitely with them on that. Let's hope for the best. It looks as if there's going to be plenty of heartache along the way, so a happy ending wouldn't be totally unrealistic.
Having Cantonese as the original language adds a kind of exotic touch compared to other BL series.
He Chusan may have come across as a timid nerd, but there seemed to be some signposting of his future role. He gave the impression of being quite distracted when Xia Luiyi was partying close to him in the nightclub while he was trying to rewrite his script lol
With Earth slaying as a hot drama nerd, Joss slaying with his haircut (apart from anything else) , Boom playing a more forward character with a slight badass vibe and Gawin doing something a bit different without losing his usual charm, we're in for an exciting time.
And that's not to mention Mix in dominant mode and Yacht providing support with his usual individual style.
It looks as if it's going to be even more of a rollercoaster ride than Season 1. Bring it on !
I have seen it described elsewhere as a depressing story, but the ending is both heartwarming and convincing. For example, the fact that
Hirukawa overcame his demons, got into university and made the films he had wanted to make were achievements that underlined this.
It's interesting to see the contrast between Qin's view of people hitting on him and the attitude of the younger brother character Por played in Your Sky.
In addition to things like the cinematography and the obvious chemistry between Force and Book, one thing I really appreciated was how full use was made of the final episode. Quite often the last part of a series doesn't contain a lot of worthwhile content. In this case, however, the loose ends were tied up in a moving, convincing way. You felt that the marriage of the main characters was definitely a well deserved conclusion.
The composer of the incidental music deserves a shout out too. From the lush, sweeping, romantic melodies that reappeared at moments of emotional intensity to the minimalist pulses that punctuated some scenes, it was a memorable big screen soundtrack that added a lot.
Anything with Mark in it...no need to say anything more. As for Poon, I love the glow up that GMMTV seem to have given him.
That's not to run down Junior and Ohm...they are continuing to display their usual convincing screen presence.
In previous roles, Off hasn't been seen spending much time walking around in his underwear. Once you got used to.this new habit, you realised that it was just a normal part of the rather individual new kind of character he created in the series.
I found the ending convincing enough. Koh and Jira were obviously a match in terms of passion. It was also clear enough that Jira was more into bad boys. However, this wasn't your typical happy ending. Koh and Jira were going to have to compromise in various ways to make things work. The basic foundation was there, but they would need to focus hard on making it stronger.
Kelvin's mother was probably the daughter of the grandfather he mentioned. In other words, she was an heiress.
Katha, Kelvin's father, married her for his future career prospects and financial security.
Before Katha married Kelvin's mother, he had already had Ken with someone else. After Kelvin's mother died, Ken and Ken's mother were installed as wife and son and Kelvin ended up in an orphanage until he was 18.
If that's Kelvin's back story, then it certainly explains why he feels he feels he has been cheated and is out for revenge.
It doesn't explain his crazy obsession with Veir, but I suppose if you feel nobody loves you that might make you weird on top of all the other reasons for feeling insecure.