Lovely chemistry and excellent production but extremely weak story.

I feel kind of bad rating this so low considering the elements I do love about it, but it's just so disappointing in the end that I can't rate it any higher...

Positives:
-Chemistry and acting. Sam and Yu really carry this entire series tbh- without them and their chemistry, I would have rated this maybe a 3-4. They are both incredible actors and their chemistry is insane. Sam in particular is just incredible- especially in the drunk scene. Their angsty, intimate scenes are the best thing to come out of this season (don't lie you replayed the sh*t out of them too). You can just feel the passion and emotion in those scenes. If you were on the fence about watching this and loved the first season- I'd recommend just watching the first 3 eps to see all tension and eventual makeup between the two. I was waiting with baited breath for every scene they had alone in those eps. But I was surprised that their arc is pretty much tied up in ep 3. The first 3 eps are pretty decent, but get progressively weaker after that.

-Production Quality - it's filmed beautifully and is very aesthetically pleasing (although I find some of the environments a bit cold and sterile this season- but I loved the waterfront restaurant!). The outfit design, styling and overall production quality is great!

Negatives:
-Story. What story? The plot was weak and disjointed. I think a lot of us were worried after the previews for the season that the reason that Shu Yi and Shi De split up for 5 years would be an extremely stupid, unconvincing and contrived gimmick... and it was... I'm so sick of the same weak and plain old lazy miscommunication tropes in BL. It's just lazy writing with zero creativity. Like at least add some flair to why they "had to" act like babies and not talk for 5 years smh. (I'll admit that although I hated the whole setup- it did allow for those incredible angsty scenes filled with fire sexual tension though lol- which I can see was the whole point).
-The scenes showing the blonde woman with the baby that were never discussed again? I thought this would be an angsty plot point as why would you show it otherwise- but nothing is ever done with it?

-The pacing, nothing happens. I saw a lot of comments excusing the bad story by saying they only had 6 episodes, what could they do with such limited air time? There's only so much they can include blah blah. But that's untrue as there are so many movies and short series that convey an interesting and fleshed out storyline in similar or shorter timespans. And we have the direct comparison of the first season being the same length but having a good story so? Honestly in this season I found myself bored in a lot of scenes waiting for an ep to finish.
-The whole software/code being stolen plotline- legitimately NO ONE CARES. This was downright filler bullshit where air time was limited and could have been used on actual/plot character development??? Worse it was boring af to watch and if you've ever worked in a corporate or IT environment (like me)- it is done laughably bad.

-The second couple of Shou Yi and Zhen Xuan. Wtf. Honestly for the first half of the show, I was one of the rare people in the comments who was actually intrigued and keen to see more of this couple. But by the end I was completely turned off by them. They are given so few scenes and then that random "explanation" at the end about Shou Yi having a dissociative disorder- and that's why he's a cold prick the entire season? Um. Ok. Don't get me wrong here- I actually liked that they were including a couple with chars with different conditions. But they handled the whole thing sooo badly and messily. They implied the whole season that Zhen Xuan had some kind of attachment disorder and that Shou Yi was distancing himself thinking it was the right thing to do. Then they randomly do a one eighty and suddenly Shou Yi is the one with a disorder and that's why he distances himself????? What. Then in the last ep after Zhen Xuan's monologue basically saying goodbye- the next scene with them they are acting fine and all chill with each other? WTF?
-Also this is a minor thing but why is Shou yi now running a bar/restaurant instead of being a doctor anymore? This is the kind of thing it would make sense to include as a plot point or at least comment on since this is a character driven drama.

-3rd couple who? I found it really strange that the third couple that has barely a couple of scenes in the entire season gets to take the spotlight of the final scene with the random marriage proposal? I found myself thinking wtf I don't care- can we actually finish with a scene of the main couple? Or you know, touching on how the second couple pretty much just had their emotional, goodbye monologue scene and now are randomly all good again? WTF is this? I know it says "their story is not over" at the end- but this whole setup was just messy af.

I would still eagerly watch a 3rd season if they make one- but this season largely felt like a waste of time that was mostly filler. Overall it was pretty with some excellent tension filled scenes between Sam and Yu- but aside from that the season was a general disappointment.

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Not the BL harem drama I had hoped for. Classic vanilla, PG, Thai BL- A simple easy but boring watch

Story: The 2021 trailer promised a lot more mystery, intrigue and angst than what was delivered. I find Theo immature, selfish and sheltered (which is fine), but he never develops past that or barely learns anything from his actions. Akk is sweet and delightful, but that wasn’t enough for me to stay invested in the story. I feel like if I hadn’t watched the 2021 trailer so many times, maybe I wouldn’t have been so disappointed though. I can see others enjoying it for its simplicity and lack of negative vibes.

The whole Enchante concept, build up and payoff was extremely lacklustre and disappointing. Like first of all, maybe social dynamics in Thailand are really this way- But I couldn’t suspend my belief enough to think several dudes would fake being in love with Theo just bc his dad was a university CEO (and that’d be enough to get a lot user value from him??). Since there were barely any interactions between the potential Enchantes and Theo prior to their reveal, there was pretty much no real believability that any of them could organically have liked him and have been the real Enchante because of that. Basically how the Enchante concept was set up, it really didn’t deliver on anything and fell flat. You don’t really care about the Enchantes at all all bc their characters are mostly unsympathetic and one-dimensional. It’s pretty clear throughout that they pose no real threat to Akk and Theo getting together. Although I will say the actor for Wayo is freaking smoking and I hope to see him in more dramas lol.

The whole parent’s divorce storyline is incredibly boring as well. It feels like filler that was added to drag the last couple of episodes out as the Enchante was already revealed pretty early and the arc was realistically finished way before ep 10. It was just a storyline that showed how immature and selfish Theo was yet again.

Acting/Cast: The actor for Theo was pretty flat imo. His acting was fine, but I wonder if it was just because the character was so dull that I wasn’t that interested in him. Akk on the other hand is beautiful and charismatic- I really hope we see him in other works soon. Honestly if he wasn’t one of the male leads in this series, I may have just dropped it- it was that boring.

Music: Fine but nothing special, the French style vibes aren’t really my thing.

Rewatch Value: None lol. I can’t even think of a scene I would want to rewatch.

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Something fresh in the world of BL, but not a complete masterpiece imo

This one really took me by surprise by how much I for the most part enjoyed it- especially considering I was pretty uninterested in the premise when I watched the original trailer. (The whole Torfun/heart transplant storyline is too unreal, cliché melodrama for my usual taste in storylines. I still don't really care for it tbh. But I see how it was required as the vehicle to deliver the rich, metro Tian to that rural environment so that his character development could take place).

I had planned to give this one a pass until I saw all the hype the series was getting. By the time Ep.8 came out I ended up binge watching all the available eps in one go. My favourite scenes were all the fun, flirty moments between Chief and Tian that made me laugh. I thought they had lovely chemistry with both the physical and personality traits of both characters playing off each other really well. I was soooo impressed by Mix's acting, he was delightful. And surprisingly I was impressed by Earth too. I've watched the majority of Earth's dramas and have been pretty unimpressed with his acting for the most part (finding him pretty flat/bland in general). But I really think taking him out of the teenager/college student role for once and casting him as a more believable character for his age and appearance really did him wonders. I thought he was a perfect fit for the chief as he was believable in portraying the strength and independence of the character as well conveying the more vulnerable, insecure moments- often just with his eyes.

I think the best part of this series is the fact that it lets BL characters free of the college campus/high school cage, allowing for a more refreshing storyline. Seriously if anything, I hope the popularity of this series pushes more BL series out of that box into seeing that yes we can have fully fledged, interesting stories with BL romance that aren't focused around teenagers. I want to see more series like this, Lovely Writer and Manner of Death where BL stories get to branch out a bit more plot-wise. I found the rural setting pretty, interesting and refreshing. It was also nice to learn more about traditional Thai culture as well as see the commentary being made on class/wealth differences etc.

Now onto some aspects I didn't love. I really enjoyed probably the first 3/4 of the series before I started to get a little bored tbh. I stopped enjoying the storyline as much when the whole "Tian is revealed as having Torfun's heart but lets not reveal the whole story to drag out some miscommunication angst" arc played out. From then on the story got a bit more shakey imo and I thought it could've been handled better (especially ep 10. which I found a real drag to get through if I'm honest).
The thing I ended up absolutely hating the most was how every character takes away Tian's agency by force- yes even Chief. Even though they sell it as being out of love and I see why they did it- I still dislike how they went about it. I hate how his mother forces him to study education in the US and acts like allowing him to study teaching at all is such a divine gift.

I hate how Chief forcibly removes him from the teaching position and tells him he HAS to leave the village even though that is where he wants to be. I understand that the whole point of forcing him to the US for two years was to "prove" that his character truly wanted to live in the village for his own happiness rather than to pay it forward for Torfun... But the fact that everyone forces him to do that when he clearly of his own volition had already decided in his heart that that's where he wanted to be pisses me off. It made that whole last ep just feel like filler to me as you were just wading through the bs waiting for Tian to get back to where he already wanted to be. I just wish they gave Tian's character more respect to decide for himself what was best for him rather than forcing a mandatory time skip for melodrama's sake (I understand this is an adaptation of a novel though- so I'm assuming this is how the story was originally written).

I also kind of wish there was more of a payoff in terms of scenes with Chief and Tian living "happily ever after". Or even showing them a couple of months in the future and how their lives adapted to each other- rather than just the last scene of them flirting on the same crappy single bed in Chief's shitty room lmao. I didn't find the one real kiss scene to be much of a payoff tbh. It was a romantic moment on the top of a mountain I get it, but meh tbh. We waited through 10 episodes of longing glances and endless flirting for one short kiss lol.

Overall I did enjoy this series for the most part, but it was dragging for me by the end. For the first 3/4's I had been ready to add it to my "best of BL" list- but the ending episodes were a little disappointing for me so I lowered my ranking a little. I would recommend this one as one of the more heartfelt, romantic BL dramas out there- but I don't think I'd re-watch it tbh.

TLDR: If you loved I Told Sunset About You- you'll likely LOVE this. But if like me, you were a little less rose-tinted glasses with that one- you might not 100% drink the 10/10 cool-aid with 1000 stars either. Although I would say 1000 stars was a LOT more enjoyable than ITSAY was for me and I'd personally recommend 1000 stars a lot more.

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Good but not a masterpiece imo

I enjoyed this series, but I did find it a bit slow-paced for my tastes. Especially the first couple of episodes (it starts to pick up after that). But I just feel like some scenes drag on way too long with not much actually happening. (I.e. watching characters walk around here and there and back again in an extended shot without much dialogue or the extended & sometimes cringy crying scenes). However by ep 3 it does pick up the pace a bit. I just loved episode 3! (The end scene was just perfect and so aptly conveyed the conflicting emotions and fear of the characters. That was my fave ep!).

I almost dropped this after the first episode as I wasn't that into the theatre stuff and thought that would be the focus of the show (IE. their rivalry). But this took a more mature direction I didn't expect. By Ep 4 you are well and truly into a more mature but very angsty, melodramatic story. (Although admittedly the story started to lose me a little there and I considered dropping it again. I feel like ep 4 was such a jarring change of pace from the previous episodes. E.g. the scene where Teh is in his room with his brother in the frame the whole time had me like wut...only for the fact that I don't believe anyone would do that in the same room as their bro, it was unnecessary af and did nothing to help convey the meaning of that scene imo).

The actors here are the real stand out for the most part. There's subtlety, warmth and sincerity in their acting, which I find is often not the case with a lot of BL actors. They were so believable in their roles- they embodied those characters. I especially liked the actor for Oh-aew for the vulnerability he was able to convey with his nuanced expressions. Although I was a little less impressed by the actor for Teh as I felt like he was a bit OTT at times, especially in the crying scenes.

The OST is beautiful. I also hope in future there's more Thai BL stories like this that branch out to more locations than the same tired old high school/college campus settings. (Let BL actors out of the college campus cage more often plz!).
Now for one critique based on my personal preference. I do get a bit tired of scenes where the characters are on their phones and texting, looking at Instagram stories etc. I get that it is pretty representative of this day and age- but I guess I still prefer more organic scenes where the characters actually meet up. I don’t like when a show relies on too many of these scenes. I wouldn’t say those scenes ruined my watching experience of ITSAY, but I did get a bit sick of looking at the characters checking whether the other person had watched their IG story or not over and OVER.
For the most part I didn’t mind it too much, but for example at the end of ep 4 it was really grinding my gears. I just wanted the characters to actually talk rather than communicate by IG stories during an extended crying scene (it starts to get a bit too gruelling and tedious imo).

Overall, this is a story about fully dimensional people- not pretty boy caricatures or cliché meet-cute scenarios. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those kind of dramas as much as the average BL fan. But I'd most recommend this for people who are looking for a more mature story with a slowly developed, flawed and complicated romance. While I did enjoy this, I feel like it was a slog to get through at times. It’s emotionally heavy, long-winded and slow-paced. I much preferred the start and middle of the series than the ending episodes (which I found pretty hard to get through).
There is so much sweetness and such a soft, romantic energy to the first half of this series. I wish it kept that through to the end. I kind of hated how melodramatic it got in the last two episodes. I especially hated the whole arc with Teh overcompensating by giving up his dream college position to Oh-aew rather than just apologizing.... and then losing that position permanently. OMG- HATED. Such stupid melodrama. Love is not giving up your dreams for the other person. That action was actually more manipulative than anything imo, so I thought Teh got what he deserved in losing the position.

I see why this show gets so much hype and I agree that it’s one of the better written, visually produced and acted BL series out there... But I don’t see myself wanting to re-watch this at any point in future because the second half was just too overwrought with little reprieve (and I'd have to skip through a lot of scenes to save myself some boredom lol).
Also, my last note and comment- Teh’s dog was the best side character in my opinion lmao. (Oh and Bas deserved hella better than what he got having been the most honest and kind character in the entire show).

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Stoned Tigers the series

The most memorable thing from this series for me will always be the simultaneously comical but depressing scenes of the poor stoned, obviously tranquilized tigers. It's like someone sat there like ok how can we make very pretty, slim Yoon look like he's in the mafia? I know! Tigers. The end.

Pros:
-That random af but very welcome three way scene with Kamol's bodyguards. I was completely caught off guard with that and it amused me every time the guards were on screen in a normal scene after that one.
-Pretty actors. The actor for Khom was my favourite- he has that reserved, masculine but naively cute vibe going on.
-The actions scenes are pretty funny. A lot of the scenes are funny in that stupidly bad it's amusing kind of way.
-Light, stupid, easy watching fun. Watch on double speed. If you don't take this seriously at all it's not (THAT) bad.

Cons:
-The story, obviously this is not one that should be taken seriously. It's corny and stupid as all hell.
-The NC scenes are...not good at all. Pretty awkward and not passionate at all. I don't think Yoon could ever convince me that he willingly wants to kiss or touch a man.
-The two lead characters are really dull, boring and one note. I actually like the actor for Kim (he was decent in Y-Destiny)- but it's like the only direction he got was to smile all the time, cry cringily in a way that made me laugh and occasionally softly question Kamol.
-Yoon was seriously miscast in this. They needed someone with a lot more presence for this role that could have uplifted the crappy material a bit. Yoon is fine but he's not the right fit for the role at all IMO.
-I feel like I remember there being a Kim chasing Kamol flying away in his private jet scene in one of the trailers? But that never happened unless I micro-sleeped while watching this on double sleep and missed it lol.

Overall not good by any means but not horrible. A bit of silly fun!

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Refreshing, tasteful and mature, more than just BL. ITSAY vibes without the melodrama

I absolutely loved this. It's so refreshing in many ways, especially if you’ve watched your fair share of BLs. These characters act like real people who organically like each other without the need of a love triangle or extenuating circumstance to push them to admit they like each other or god forbid, that they like a man. There’s no cliché oops I fell and kissed you, no evil ex partners etc.

Story: There’s a distinct element of sincerity to this story. It’s a simple love story without the standard BL tropes wasting screen time. For a South Korean BL web series with short episodes- this one doesn’t have the jarring pacing or lack of depth that most other KBL web series suffer from. It really comes off as more of a well-paced movie if anything. You don’t feel like you’re missing anything and the only time where I felt like there was any moment that could even be considered boring or filler was in the last episode as the main conflict wasn’t one that needed a lot of screen time, so they bulked it out a bit more than needed.

There’s real people with complex relationships with their families in this series, which I found quite relatable as well. It’s rare in BLs these days where I find some value to the story outside of the BL component. These non-BL scenarios usually come off more like filler and aren’t that deep in most BLs. But in this one they actually add to the story. I LOVED Si Won’s plotline with his mother as that was so relatable to me and their pinnacle scene together where their feelings come to a head was more realistic to what I think would happen in most families in real life- rather than being an idealized happy ending moment where everyone says sorry and admits their faults.

There are real kisses in this, especially top tier if comparing them to a lot of awkward KBL kisses. They look like they actually want to kiss each other. The scene on the beach stole my heart with the innocence and realism to it. The love-making scene isn’t something I would even call a NC scene like I would with most in Thai BLs for example- because it was legitimately a romantic, genuine, mature and beautifully shot scene.

Acting/Cast: Both male leads were fantastic. Their interactions with each other were so fluid and believable. I loved every glance, smile, conversation and kiss. Looking at the actor’s profiles, I think this may be due to the fact that unlike a lot KBLs these days- they went with actors rather than KPOP idols. Where I feel like a lot of the idol turned BL actors don’t commit as much to the role and are clearly awkward with the kissing scenes. Even the side characters in this are enjoyable, they can all act well and for once I enjoyed all the side stories rather than wanting to fast-forward through them.
This was filmed beautifully and had a lot more visually interesting shots than say 80% of BLs. This filming style and the music reminded me of ITSAY as it had that kind of more artsy, thoughtful style too it. Although I enjoyed this series a 100% more than ITSAY as the melodrama of ITSAY was too high for me where this story was more realistic and enjoyable IMO.

Music: The music is great in this. There is not one song I found lacking and each perfectly fit with the scene.

Rewatch Value: There aren’t many BLs I rewatch- but I will rewatch this one in future. It’s just beautiful in my opinion. The subtle and natural looking interactions between the MLs is enough for me to rewatch- seeing how much Si won makes Da Un smile by just being who he is. Their chemistry is lovely.

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Cold garbage that destroys the heart of the first season

I'm surprised so many people are loving this under the guise of it being so "realistic". Sure the relationship struggles with inner jealously and resentment building mostly because of a horrible lack of communication are realistic I suppose. I don't have a problem with the story not being fluff or all happy days etc. It's more how the characters don't act realistic at all.

It disgusts me the idea that someone who loved you even a tiny bit ever could just leave a shit note with no explanation and never speak to you again is apparently "realistic". Or that it's "realistic" to just let someone treat you like absolute shit over and over again and because of "love", you're meant to just bear through it until they decide to stop being a selfish prick. It's so pathetic and desperate and Seo Joon deserves better. If this were such realistic story, Seo Joon would moved on from such a cold hearted POS and found a new love with someone who actually loves him. That would be the plot of Season 2.

It makes me sad because the first season is so good and full of heart. This is just cold hearted, drawn out cruelty for the sake of drama to fill a whole season crap. You shouldn't have to beg someone to be with you- that's not love and it's not the kind of "romance" I want to watch. Everything could have been resolved in a much smarter, more realistic way had they just you know talked to each and communicated about their issues. but no instead we get garbage treatment until the last episode. One episode where they basically revert back to being a couple who actually cares about each other just doesn't make up for the 9 garbage episodes before that imo.

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I'm ignoring my "suggested overall" rating because I enjoyed this a LOT despite it's flaws

There are some hella weird tonal differences in this series. On one hand, this series is PG to the max. The kiss scenes are very minimal (with a confession scene literally cut completely from the official version of the show) and barely any progress for any of the couples happens plot wise until ep 10.

On the other hand- for a show so set on being PG, it has the following very NOT PG elements:
-Ads for body sculpting/slimming treatments. These were really bizarrely placed as it seemed like they were well aware they are targeting adult females with this series given this product placement- but then why is the show so PG? I’m just confused. Also it made me laugh when they had the very slim guys promoting it like lol what!? I’m cackling.
-An ad with the very young looking teen dude (high school character in the show) getting botox????
-The ad break lead in cards of all the cast hugging each other shirtless??!? They are ok but mildly creepy since they’re so jarring from the saccharine atmosphere of the show. Especially the shot of Maping with the two teachers- ew.
-The premise of the series as described in the poorly written synopsis is VERY not PG and doesn’t really match the actual tone of the show. It implies the sleazy kind of typical BL tropes of that variety. I mean even referencing a teacher/student relationship is so extremely not PG lol.
Now onto the actual review - Note: Story spoilers below!

Pros:
-Despite all the signs pointing to this being the kind of slow, PG series I wouldn’t like- I still came back every week and was entertained enough to eagerly wait for new eps. This is definitely one of the more light hearted, peaceful, easy-watching BL series. I can see a lot of people getting bored with this one- but I found it quite charming and relaxing to watch. It’s nice seeing characters just be genuinely nice to one another.
-The melodramatic miscommunication trope is dead here and I love it. The characters still have issues to resolve of course. But I love how miscommunications don’t last long here and the characters actually genuinely communicate and work out their issues. I especially liked how they dealt with Chol’s family issues.

- The actor for Prab is absolutely adorable and charismatic. I think half the reason this show is watchable is because he’s just an enjoyable actor to watch (very charming). I also loved how his adoration for Chol NEVER came off as creepy. Not even once (at least not to me). The step-brothers trope is rife in BL and it is extremely rare to see a depiction of it that doesn’t come off as predatory, creepy or how it is classically portrayed- lustful. (I think it helps that both actors are similar in age being only one year apart irl and so they actually look pretty close in age). Although I did find Chol’s character a bit too childish to the point I was kind of relieved that this was a very PG step-brothers romance tbh. E.g. I think NC scenes would have played off very weird between him and Prab.
- I think the strength of this show (and why I kept coming back) is because Prab’s love comes off as very genuine. The slow build-up of their relationship over the episodes as people who really care about each other as people before anything else is really effective. It’s just kind of pleasant and sweet watching Prab care for Chol each episode with genuine love. I loved that Prab genuinely helps Chol work through his feelings and deal with situations in a positive and mature way throughout the show. No manipulation, no toxicity- their relationship is built on such a positive foundation.
-I’m not a big fan of the teacher/student ship. Mostly because Maping legit looks so young- so it’s too creepy for me. Although if you’re not into it like I wasn’t- don’t worry too much as their scenes are pretty minimal and the ship does not sail thank f. The teacher actually even sees some repercussions for trying to pursue a romance against his better judgement to be ethical as a teacher. They actually acknowledged how inappropriate the whole thing is in a BL which NEVER happens- loved it! This is why this ship is a pro not a con for me as there was actual consequences for inappropriate behaviour.

Cons:
-Ok so the biggest con for the entire series is that they cut scenes from the official subbed line tv episodes- some of which are critical to the story??!?! These extra scenes are only viewable on youtube in an unsubbed format. There are some integral scenes that it looks like international fans won’t ever get to see subbed.
For example- if you’re going to watch this, just note that Ep.12 will be jarring af as suddenly two of the main chars are a couple out of nowhere. One of them just out of nowhere says they’ve been dating and you’re like WHAT?! You’ll rewind the ep feeling like you missed something.
And you did miss something because if you watch part 3/3 of the Unseen Cut version on the 9 MCOT Official youtube channel- you will see there was an ENTIRE CONFESSION SCENE cut from the official episode. What the fk? Literally the pinnacle moment of the entire series is cut! I literally can’t.
In ep 12 alone there is at least 10 mins of cut scenes smh. Even just skipping through the rest of ep 12 in the “Unseen Version”, I could see that the extra scenes would have really added more context/flow in the story. It frustrates me knowing I for sure missed scenes of this series because I cannot be bothered re-watching the whole series again unsubbed on youtube just to see what I missed.

-A lot of the music/sound effects (not all) is extremely cheesy, dated af and unintentionally makes me laugh in scenes where I’m not meant to be laughing. Like when the power goes out one ep and the music is so dramatic like something drastically bad in a thriller movie has happened. Or when Chol started to faint in one scene and the music made me feel like I was watching a sitcom from 20 years ago. Very average OST in general. The music in the dramatic scenes is the worst/best(?) lol.
-The Line TV sub quality is pretty average. You get the point the chars are trying to get across- but there’s no subtlety to the subs and it does impact the flow of some scenes imo. Some lines are randomly not translated or are a bit awkward. There is an especially funny sub error for the word kick in ep 12 where the sub is translated as “This brat! I’ll lick your ass”- which amused me wayyyy more than it should have.

Overall I actually enjoyed this show a lot even though I wouldn’t say that it’s amazing or crazy good in any aspect tbh. I mostly just found it cheesy, wholesome and really easy going to watch (which is something I personally enjoy a lot). Although I can see a lot of people getting bored with it.
The ending was definitely a bit rushed and there are some subplots/side couples that I would’ve liked to see more development on- but apparently there’s going to be a season 2. So I’ll be eagerly waiting for that and will hope to see more development there!

Because I enjoyed this a lot despite all its flaws, I’m rating it higher than it deserves in all honesty (especially considering the cut scenes LOL). 7/10.

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Sooo much potential! Similar to Color Rush. The title doesn't do it justice- it's really cute!

Man this mini series has more plot smashed into it's tiny runtime length (12 x 4min episodes so around 48mins all up) than 80% of 12-14 ep full length Thai BLs. I'm not kidding! I'm glad I finally watched this despite being turned off by the random name of the series. Yes one character plays Esports but he's not really a genius and neither are brothers as I expected (guessing this was a mainland China censorship choice though?).

Given the weird title, I was surprised to find when I started watching this that it has very similar, unique concept to Color Rush (which I also loved). I'm shocked they even tried to tackle a complex world building component in such a short series- so I give them props for that!
Keep in mind going into this one that like other reviews pointed out, this series very much feels like you're watching just episode recaps rather than the actual show. Because of it's tiny runtime, the cuts between scenes are pretty abrupt and you often feel like you're missing something. Despite that I still loved this. I just love the concept, the actors are super cute and still manage to have chemistry and cute scenes. Man this storyline has so much potential to make a really interesting full length series.

The subs on Gagaoolala are a bit off at times too where you feel like something is lost in translation. And of course being censored, the kisses and a lot of touching are cut rather abruptly. Although I like that despite the censorship, the director made it clear throughout the series that this is BL and not a bromance- which I appreciate a lot. The romance and clear declaration of love are there, the moment of kissing is just cut.

Despite all the above, I really enjoyed this series for what it is. Just don't expect more from it and you'll enjoy it. I will quietly hope for a full length series to be made and the Chinese censorship laws to end one day!

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The most refreshing and sincere BL story I've ever watched

Beautiful on so many levels. This has to be the most perfect BL series I've ever watched. This made me cry so many times (but in a good way) and the ending is just perfect in my opinion. Nothing in this series is forced or unrealistic, which is something so refreshing to see in a sea of so many dull, high school BL dramas.
If you are sick of all the cliché, run of the mill BL storylines revolving around silly miscommunications, forced love-triangles, immature possessive characters and lack of consent- this show will be such a divine fresh breathe of air for you.

The story is simple, but the attention to detail in every aspect of the production, acting, OST, etc. bring it together to be such a wholesome, poignant and important story to tell. For one example, this has to be one of the only BL series where the side characters are not mere annoyances or cardboard cut-outs. They're real people with their own stories to tell that add to the realism of the story (even despite the short length of the series). The main characters are not gay characters existing in a "gay world". These are real people having their story told in a sincere, mature and honest way.

There's so many things I could say about this series, but in summary I just absolutely loved it. This series transcends the BL genre and stands alone as a wholly human, masterfully told story. Pure romance, pure perfection. What I want most out of a BL series is too feel the love, feel the romance- and that's what this series accomplished. That and more.

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Boring cringe. "Watch on double speed" the series with some exceptions (mainly Ep 9-10)

Overall this whole series was so freaking slow, barely anything happens and it was such a disappointment considering the hype of the teasers and how many popular BL actors & pairings are included.

Couple/Episode breakdown ranked in order of which I enjoyed the most to the least:
• Eps 9-10 – Puth & Kaeng – Bruh this was hot. Kaeng's styling is so effing good wholly shiz and he is really convincing in the seducer role. Loved it! I would happily watch a series with this pair- they actually had chemistry.

• Eps 11-12 - Sat & Choke: When I saw the concept teaser for this, I thought it’d be one of my least favourite. But I actually ended up enjoying at least the first ep a lot. The two MLs had good chemistry. I enjoyed ep 11 a lot but 12 went back to the Y-destiny trend of being slow, boring, melodramatic and stupid.
Like lol wtf Choke has Sat jerk him off and keeps kissing him, says he loves him and then turns around and says welp- I have a boyfriend now, cya! This is after saying in the previous ep that he’s single and no one is ever interested in him so??? Wtf.
Also not sure why the chars randomly spoke a lot of English in these eps. I’m not complaining but there’s no reason given why lol. It would make sense if it was a Pinoy drama, but it’s not? So it seems like they were just showing off that the actor for Sat is bilingual for no real reason. I see the concept they were going with like “the shallow things you wish for may end up not being what you really want”- but I think they executed it pretty averagely overall. Although I get this is a shallow BL show lmao- I am expecting too much.

• Eps 5-6 – Mon & Team: Cringe and mostly boring, but with some hot scenes. I actually quite liked the second ep of this if you skip to the 15 min mark. ;) (Mostly bc of the NC scene NGL). The lead up to that is pretty damn cringe and boring though. Also the scene where Team “seduces” Mon by rubbing his wet hands on his chest after using the toilet and washing his hands- what the F*CK. Like who wrote that scene omfg? They could have done literally anything else at all to be more seductive. Mon’s constant squeaky, squealing sounds were almost intolerable as well. I cringed SO HARD every time.

• Eps 7-8 – Thurs & Pao: Think basic imitation of the ghost trope done in He’s Coming to Me. If you’ve seen that, you’ve seen this concept before in much more depth- so this short, simplified version is not very interesting. They wasted way too much time before introducing Pao as well considering there’s only two episodes. Pae is really cute and this couple was pretty cute together, but these eps are pretty average overall.

• Eps 13-14 – Masuk, Jia & Tir – Masuk looks so effing good here. Talay is a beautiful guy, but they styled him especially perfectly in these eps. Also is it just me or does it looks like they used like a hair chalk colour spray to get the grey colour into Jia’s hair rather than colouring it for real because it looked chalky af like it was sitting on top of his hair in every scene lol. I found it distracting because it kept making me think, dude- brush through your dry shampoo lmao.
This is definitely one of the more thoughtful stories in this series. This series really ranges from stupid, shallow fluff to more serious, sadder stories like this one. It was ok but not really my vibe. I still found it pretty boring if I’m honest since it’s your pretty generic told a million times before tale of learning to move on through grief. Although it was also incredibly unbelievable to believe that the firefighters would have just left Tir there to die of smoke inhalation when they were legit all there wtf Lol- very immersion breaking.

• Eps 3-4 – Sun & Nuea: Cringe and boring. Nuea’s outfits are trendy af and nice to look at but again nothing happens. I watched most of this on double speed. The whole confession while livestreaming was weird af. Sun looked so uncomfortable in ALL the seduction scenes, so those scenes did not come off as hot to me and were pretty awkward.

• Eps 1-2 - Tues & Ake: Pure fluffy, PG boredom. Watch on double speed or skip this couple unless you love cutesy, fluff scenes where barely anything actually happens. This was the classic enemies to lovers plot with the quickest transition to lovers I think I’ve ever seen in a BL. The transition is really abrupt and nonsensical. Boring af. Recommend skipping.

• Ep 15 – Ensemble episode with all couples. Half of this was weird controlling boyfriend setups- like wtf it is not romantic to not let your bf out of the house and force them to ask permission to go out and to beg for money. And the other half of this ep was silly, boring fluff. Also the whole having a birthday party for your dead boyfriend with your new boyfriend setup was some really weird sh*t.

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This could have been so good! 8/10 for two Eps. 4/10 for the rest.

Overall this series was pretty disappointing and silly in all but two episodes. The prequel special episode was wonderful, as was the special episode after the finale (ep 13.). Everything else was mostly me just watching on double speed looking for anything interesting or at least not really stupid. There was pretty little of that.

Pros:
-The prequel special ep is overall just great. 8/10.
-Ep 13 (the post finale special) is also really good where you get to see Tee and Ice get together. I loved their dynamic, they both committed to their NC and kissing scenes. Their kiss scenes were so good! Ice was much cuter and his sweetness was charming. It was cute seeing Tee's jealously for him and them finally admitting their affection for each other.
-The actor for Tee is so hot. Sooo hot. I know Nine is meant to be the ultimate eye candy here and sure his body is chiselled af. And usually I find the actor for Daonuea really beautiful and charming in all his other roles. (Not in this one sadly because his character is so whiny and intolerable). BUT the actor for Tee has the lustful, wanting looks down pat and convinces you he wants to kiss his partner. That's what I want to see. His one ep with Ice was more passionate and believable than the entire series of scenes with the main couple. I really hope to see him in better roles. The last 20 seconds of the special ep are just chef's kiss with the way Tee looks at Ice.
-The actors did the best they could with the terrible script. They really did. Every actor I'm familiar with I've liked in their other works. I feel like I could almost see the pain on the actor for Nine's face in the earlier episodes when Daeonuea's char is asking him why he's doing this stupid shit and Nine's actor is like well fk there's really no good reason- how do I emote for this? I swear I could see that ticking over in his mind through his expression in some scenes.
-The main female actors are incredibly hot af. Candy and Praew were just beautiful in every scene and I liked seeing their different outfits- even if Praew's character is intolerable.
-The production value was actually pretty good. Pretty lighting and high quality footage and audio.
-A lot of the music (if you completely exclude the bombastic NC scene music) was actually pretty good. A couple of the softer songs with a lot of English in them actually got stuck in my head after watching. Really pretty!

Cons:
Look there's so many cons for this show that I feel like are covered pretty much in everyone else's reviews. So I'm not going to list them all here.
Mainly I'll just say the script was awful, as was the pacing. I watched the uncut, super long episodes on IQIYI and honestly they should have just released cut versions with the important scenes only and everyone would have been better off.

Overall I'm leaving this show on a positive note, but it is literally only because it ended on that special episode which I can actually see myself re-watching.

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Flawed, but also has the most lovely, soft touches, kisses and convincing looks between lovers

I wonder if me taking a break from watching this series for a couple months half way through it really helped my viewing enjoyment. Since I understand a lot of the criticism people have pointed out about it getting draggy and boring at times. But having binge watched the last 4 eps in one go after taking a break- I finished this series loving it.

I think if you found the first several episodes boring, give it another chance and just watch those scenes on double speed (I did lol). Episode 4 and 8 were my favourite, even despite the idiocy of their 3 year hiatus bullshit in the last ep. I feel like it picks up from ep 4, where you get to see the main leads get together and work through some genuine issues (not stupid bl high school issues, actual issues). I liked seeing all the ghosts stories come to an end and how they looped back to a real reason for Kevin to be so invested in Ghost Hunting.

By far the best thing to come out of this series is the chemistry between the male leads. Boy has to be one of the most convincing BL actors I've seen in a while. They genuinely seem attracted too and turned on by each other. Lord the scene where Pleum was getting hot and bothered looking at Kevin's legs just had me. But it's more than that, it's how Pleum looks at Kevin, kisses his hands, etc. It's the longing love I'm looking for in BL. For that I can look past a lot of the boring and/or stupid parts.

Usually I'd have a lot more of an issue with the whole idiotic 3 year time skip- but this time I was able to overlook it for the above since the last ep delivered again on the longing and flirtation. Idk if the time skip crap happening in a thousand BLs has just desensitized me too it at this point lmao. Yes, logically in no sane world would Kevin be able to piss off for 3 years with no communication or explanation and have Pleum waiting and desperate for him at the end. No sorry, no explanation. I'm still waiting for the day BL writers could be mature enough to instead have just had Kevin admit he was scared. Where they would have talked about it and got together like normal humans. But alas I am expecting too much of the world of BL again. I'll take what I can get, lol.

Oh and the other main bonus of this series is just watching Boy act. He has a lot of potential and I hope he gets a lot of projects in future. He's like the insanely hot, more bulked out, flirtatious, sexy older brother of Nanon IMO.

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If you can turn off your brain completely, the kiss scenes and hot guys are delightful! :D

This is one of those series with a pretty aesthetic including suits and hot guys with decent chemistry that falls apart in literally every other aspect. I've come to love the ChapxGreen pairing and really hope to see them in something with a decent script in future. If you watch up to ep 6 on double speed and just enjoy the NC scenes after- I'd say that is the best way to watch this series and you'll have a much more enjoyable experience. ChapxGreen are clearly comfortable kissing each other- so those scenes are really the best thing to come out of this series.

Story: There basically is no story- many plot choices are just genuinely bad writing and worse, are just plain stupid. E.g. the plot contrivance to get Chap to Green's house being that originally Chap hit his staff member over the head with a heavy object (the ethics I can't)- so his staff member did the same back to him to have him pass out so he could be moved there. There could have been so many ways to get Chap to Green's place without committing violent, unacceptable acts? Literally laughable script writing that only makes Chap's character looks even more unsympathetic and unlikeable for half the episodes.

Green's character also makes little to no sense (why not just tell the girl you've been leading on for years that you don't like her? She didn't even end up being a b*tch about it- she literally was just like hey wish you told me earlier so we both didn't waste our time.) You could tell that was just a lazy plot device so they could have an easily solvable conflict to finish with.

Acting/Cast: Green was incredible in Something in my Room. Chap was decent in Lovely Writer. But both give less impressive performances in this. Green is still decent, but Chap especially has a lack of expression and dead eyes in a lot of scenes. I think this is more due to the horrible script and possibly the direction since they really didn't have much to work with here. Honestly watching some candid clips of these two outside of their acting gigs- they genuinely have chemistry and are so cute and comfortable with each other. I wish we got to see more of that vibe in this.

Music was good, decent enough.
Rewatch value is zero + 2stars only for the kissing scenes.

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Objectively average but I really enjoyed the second half despite it's flaws

They really need to fix the synopsis of this because the final story is nothing like what is described above (and what I've seen elsewhere). It’s important to note with this one that the final cut of the series is definitely not what the creators obviously envisioned. The filming of the series was disrupted majorly by Covid- which caused a major, sudden change in the story and cast 3/4 of the way through the episodes. Because of this I like to consider this show as two standalone, separate stories (Part 1 and Part 2). As both are so different, in my opinion you’re likely to like one or the other but maybe not both. (I personally found Part 1 quite boring, but really enjoyed Part 2 as its own cute, romantic story).

Part 1 – This is ep 1-8 which was filmed before the major crisis interrupted filming. Here we have Cupid/Nite 1 as the love interest. The story ends with a cliff-hanger which I’m pretty sure all of us expected to be dealt with way differently to what we ended up with in Part 2. I personally ended up enjoying the way Part 2 went though- so I thought this shift was an improvement in the end (even if the story and setting shift was jarring).
The production value in Part 1 is so low it's hard to watch at times. There are scenes in this part that made me laugh so hard. Now I’m ngl, they weren’t intended to be funny scenes- but the cringe is just so funny at times that I actually ironically enjoyed it. Like wholly shiz, there is a scene in Ep.4 where it looks like someone literally throws a bucket of water in Tae’s face when they’re standing in the middle of a pond??
There is no explanation for it other than them then saying "oh no it’s raining" after that. Like rain doesn’t come sideways and throw itself out of a pond directly into one person’s face?! OMG I DIED. And the horrible, shaky pan of the camera as they walk down the pier moments before that. And moments after the water to face moment, they run back down the pier to get out of the “rain”. And there is visibly no rain in the zoomed out shot. Literally. Priceless.

The story is pretty bad and nonsensical in general. Very little happens and tbh I’d recommend watching at double speed until Part 2 (when Nite 2 comes in). The first episode is especially hard to get through with the level of cringe and boredom it entails.
Some extra cons:
-The music is very average and I swear I’ve heard some of the songs in other low budget stuff so I’m guessing there are some royalty free or very cheap tracks in there.
-Having Cupid (IE. Nite 1) act like a plank of wood did absolutely no one any favours (that or Nite one can’t act well?).
-The sub quality is also not the best. It’s still watchable and understandable- but I always find the flow of scenes a bit more awkward and less effective when the subs aren’t good.

Part 2 – This is ep 9-12 which was filmed a time after Part 1 and a lot of the original actors were no longer available for it. Part 2 is the aftermath of the cliff-hanger in Part one and is set some period of time later. The issue we left Part 1 with was never resolved- so in this part we see the main character (Tae) attempting to cope with their feelings and move on when they meet Nite 2 (with a new actor playing him where the char itself is dif too). So the last 4 eps pretty much solely focus on Tae and the new Nite.

The production value for these episodes is way better. The main char’s styling and haircut is WAY better. Nite 2 is much more charming and likeable in my opinion (also very attractive). I thought the actor for Nite 2 had a special something about him, which is probably half the reason I ended up enjoying just watching him romance the main character for four eps. (He’s in an upcoming BL called Love Area and I am keen af for that after seeing him here!).
Even though the ending is defs not what you’d expect going into this series, I actually liked it a lot. I thought it was a nice ending on its own that is rarely shown in BLs that mostly heavily rely on finding your “one true love” (usually their first love) and that’s it. It was nice to see a BL where the char moves on when their first love is lost and finds happiness again with someone else- because to me that is more realistic.
I have to say overall this is a pretty average show, but despite all of its flaws - I thoroughly enjoyed Part 2 of the series. I can see myself rewatching part 2 at some point bc it was so cute!

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