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My School President thai drama review
Completed
My School President
1 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Apr 17, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

How to do a BL series set in a high school

This ought to be a model of sorts for how schoolboy BL series should be made. It is lighthearted and cute without being frivolous. It doesn't resort to representing toxic behaviors to "entertain". It may seem like an enemies-to-lovers story at the start, but it soon becomes obvious that there is no real enmity between them.

The charm of many BL series featuring characters of high school age lies in the innocence of the characters, but that's also where it is all too easy to go wrong. Sometimes the characters are too immature, but not here. To be sure, there is a lot of comedy and even silly behavior. However, what Tinn does for Gun is sweet and touching. It's also a good thing that this is revealed in bits throughout the series and not dropped like a bomb at the end of the story because it helps us appreciate the goodness of the character.

But for a BL series to be done right, it is not just the love story or the main characters that counts. The secondary characters matter too. I appreciate the portrayal of Tinn's group of friends as well as Gun's bandmates. In particular, Tinn's endlessly supportive friend, Thiu, is a delight. I also love the contrast between Tinn's and Gun's mothers. Tinn's mother (the school principal) seems strict and cold while Gun's mother is casual, and it's clear which parent may pose an obstacle to the leads' relationship later.

If I have to fault the series for anything, perhaps it would be in the couple of instances where it tries a tad too hard to be more serious, such as with Gun's mother becoming very ill, Tinn's mother suspecting something about their relationship and the homophobia some members of the school community exhibit when Tinn and Gun's relationship is exposed. These parts of the series, which come quite late, are double-edged swords. On the one hand, they present great opportunities to showcase the characters' development. On the other hand, given the predominant lightheartedness of the series, we more or less know how things will turn out so the seriousness doesn't really get that serious. Towards the end of the series, the series does the equivalent of someone blowing a balloon and letting the air out before it gets really big and then repeating the process a few times.

Despite the slight flaws, My School President is probably amongst the very best high school BLs ever made. It has the lighthearted charm of a series like 2gether but without so many of the flaws. It may make one miss one's high school days but it also portrays youthful insecurities quite sensitively--I particularly love the scene where Tinn's mother is about to ask him about his relationship with Gunn and, despite his love for Gun, he is so tense and frightened that his mother feels bad for him decides to change the topic. (Well, she has the answer without him saying it).

I love Gemini and Fourth and wish that they will not turn out just be a one-BL-series pairing.
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