Little BL lost....

I wanted to drop it but I did not: it was strangely addictive in the beginning and since the episodes are short, I finished it. But I can see why it has such a bad rating: it does not know what it wants to be: 2gether or Bed Friend! So it tries to be both but it is eventually neither!

>It is a story of two university students, promiscuous men, notorious for their one night stands who bump into each other and it is love at first sight though neither is aware of it! But everithing takes place at the university so we are served the complete list of tropes: fujoshi friend posting about them on line, trans busybodies, screaming fans, stupid misunderstandings, nosy best friends etc. etc.

The first few episodes they navigated between the interesting plot with unusual characters and cringy uni scenes. Unfortunately, they continued like this till the end when they sunk into the depths of cringy dialogue of two people in love... The main characters went from cheeky, arrogant Fah and prickly charming Sher to soft sickly sweet marshmallows: it the last episode, Sher scratches his ankle, Fah carries him in his arms (not piggyback!) and then Sher walks around with a crutch. This was the ultimate scratch wound. Sher who was confident and cocky turned into a damsel in distress! And Fah turns from a popularity king into a jealous shrew!

Everything was like this is this drama: every originality was abandoned along the way for the usual university fare! There were two side couples. One of them, best friends to lovers: when they realized they had feelings for each other, they slept together. Few days later, they are sitting in the bed, one kisses the cheek of the other who screams like a virgin! Ridiculous! All the characters had zero development, if not for the worst: they all seemed to become wimps when they fell in love!

I don't know how accurate the translation is, but the vocabulary they used was really vulgar very often when they talked to each other. The bed scenes were frequent, especially during the first few episodes. What surprised me was the choice of music: drums, only drums and it was hot and new. But that happened only once and afterwards they went with the usual soft song etc....boring!

It definitely does not deserve such bad rating, it is watchable, James is excellent in a double role but, all in all, this is kind of missed opportunity!

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Stress and colours but no love

Monochrome is being sold as "boys love, lgbtq+, yaoi, gay" on WayuFilms Production youtube channel. I have not seen any of it unless you count a long fixed look between the leads until one of them turns the head around. That is the only moment in the film which could make the audience think that this is a romance, though there might be a whiff of unrequited love in the air!

The story:
White is a graphic designer who, after being scolded at work, loses his confidence and the ability to see colours. His best friend Shield tries to help him adjust to the new situation but White is too frustrated to make a real effort. Until one day they meet a blind girl painting in the park and White realized that his deficiency is not the end of the world and that he can do his job in spite of it.

The story deals with the pressure: the one we put on ourselves thinking we can do anything and the one put on us by the world, the employers and the society at large. We need to learn how to deal with this kind of stress, and the film shows it to us: there are people worse off than ourselves who are doing much better just because they accept themselves as they are and have found a way to make the most of it by taking an alternative path. In this film, the bling girl teaches White to distinguish colours by smell.

The production is, as usual, on a shoe string budget. The best was actually the actress playing the blind girl: I really believed she was blind. The film also has the main character working on a poster for a film/web drama starring the same actress and from the same producers. (On n'est jamais mieux servi que par soi même!!) The actors are rookies who act better when they are not speaking: there is a long montage without dialogue, which I found the most interesting. It seems to me that WayuFilm Productions are rarely going outside these days, filming their short movies in the office. They have lost a bit of its charm: I remember when I first discovered them, the cinematography was stunning and the stories were original. The last few short films have been a slight disappointment: actors learning the trade, boring stories and bad production values.

So, there is no romance here just some wishful thinking from the audience used to better fleshed out stories (Mon & Oak period!) from this director .

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Pretty paintings and crime

DISCLAIMER: My opinion, that's all!

The concept of this drama reminded me very much of many US shows, police procedurals in which they usually pair up a gruff but extremely honest policeman and a quirky highly intelligent civilian (mostly mathematicians or psychology professors or some such profession) who comes up with the right remark/discovery at a crucial moment thereby solving the case gaining admiration by everyone!
It is the same here: this time an art history professor and highly skilled painter is brought in to help with investigations. At first there is animosity between him and the detective but that quickly vanished when the painter skilfully solves the case in the nick of time, impressing the detective who becomes his main fan.
I was actually a bit disappointed that the conflict was resolved so quickly: I hoped for the tension to last a bit longer. From episode three onwards, we were on the full bromance(not chines censors' one though which it could have been seeing the physical differences between two characters who looked like they just came out of a shounen ai manhua!LOL).
Once their relationship was firmly established, we were treated to a series of "case of the week" episodes featuring different stories: murders, scams, suicides (the slightly GL overtone one did not sit well with me: it sent the very wrong message!)
Over these 20 episodes we did not find much about the main characters: their past and their families are barely mentioned.
And this is where the plot holes come in: the detective comes from a well off family but was caught being a delinquent in a gang fight. Painter looks like he was a homeless kid, taken in by a kind art teacher but still living as a rebel? He was nearly drowned to death (who saved him the first time?) and forgot the face of the woman who asked him for a sketch (that too: why did she have a photo of a 3yr old to find someone easily found 30 years later?I must have missed the explanation!LOL). A psychologist told him he needed to have another near death experience to jog his memory but he had had another such event just a few days previously and nothing happened to his memory. As the plot progressed, the painter got to have many new capabilities: highly observant, highly knowledgable in anatomy, highly competent in psychology (the way he manipulated the computer baron was amazing and of course chess master and extremely talented painter.Makes you wonder how the police managed to catch anyone before he joined with his drawing skills.
Last but not least, the police is painted in such a positive light; everyone is nice, honest, competent, trustworthy and cheerfull, supporting each other for the greater good! Amazing!

The paintings and the drawings were beautiful: in the last scene we are shown sketches of characters from the cases they solved and each sketch is in a different style! There are some really pretty pictures! The painter who did these for the drama production is a very talented individual!

I must admit that as much as I enjoyed this at start, I was getting bored with it by the end. It is not half bad, a fun watch but I just have trouble getting used to c dramas. Again I had the impression they first filmed everything, edited everything in a block then chopped it up into 40min pieces: sometimes the episode would end mid-sentence. They should really learn how to make a cliffhanger cliffhangy!

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Still lingering...

Where Your Eyes Linger was my very first BL.

Before watching it, I did not know what BL meant (thank you, google! lol!). This was the drama which led me down the BL rabbit hole I don't seem to be able to free myself of (just like CLOY led me down the k drama rabbit hole, I fortunately managed to get out of but that is another story!).

I remember loving the initial bodyguard premise, the chemistry, the dark cinematography, the beautiful ending scene. But I also remember there were things that kept bugging me while I was watching the drama. The first time I just decided not to pay attention to them. Unfortunately, I rewatched it a few times since then and even though I still enjoy it as much as the first time, I keep finding more and more flaws with it and consequently, my ratings keep dropping.

The drama was too short which left some things out: most importantly Kang Guk's backstory. We know NOTHING about him only that he has been Taeju's bodyguard for 15 years. Since Taeju seems to be in high school probably 18 years old, how old is his bodyguard? Probably much older than Taeju, logically speaking! Even though he goes to school with him, he must be older than 18. I am surprised nobody's screaming scandal, grooming!!!! Maybe the father? Taeju's father is a big company chairman but looks and acts like a mafia don. He sends his son away but lets him come back three years later?!? He must have had a change of heart? Yeah, right, like that is going to happen....

I haven't seen either the drama or the film in a long time so I cannot tell you what differences there are: apparently the voiceover, present in the drama is back in the film and it truly helps with explaining the plot and the title. It looks like they recorded additional voiceover for some of the final scenes.

I love this director's films and dramas: they are practically the only ones I rewatch regularly (To My Star is by far my favourite BL!). But that does not mean that I am blind to their flaws which, in spite of excellent stories, sometimes sound false and cringy...

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Misunderstandings and missed chances

This drama had two halves for me: a rant inducing first half and the butterflies inducing second. It is a story of teens, full of insecurities, behaving like teens i.e. immaturely and without the courage to ask for what they really want! Fast-forward 10 years later, those teens are adults now and are well aware of the chances they are given so they take them albeit reluctantly but they still do!

What I liked:
- two stories told in parallel: past and present. In the past we see how they go from best friends to lovers to enemies and in the present from enemies to lovers. The pacing was excellent!
- Ji's character in the present and Achi's in the past timeline
- Ji's parents, especially father in the end
- Junior's singing voice (if that's him singing!)
- Achi's manager and Ji's friend
- absolutely zero PPLs (incredible but true)
- good chemistry and excellent NC scenes

What I did not like:
- unnecessary second couple (Ki and the farmer)
- Achi's behaviour in the first half
- too much lipstick on Achi
- sound effects (even a little bit of those is too much!)
- lack of communication causing a 10 year rift between them
- lack of communication
- lack of communication

The rest is here:

PERSONAL RANT: pay no attention to my lucubrations! Thank you!
1. I have started this only 10 min ago and want to drop it already. Why? Those awful unnecessary sound effects! Really? Still doing those? Please producers, give some credit to your public that they will know when a scene is supposed to be funny! And, OMG! the lipstick on that dude!😱 But Fluke is so pretty without looking weak. Makes me think of James of Bed Friend fame!...Fortunately, no shiny lipstick on him! He's making it worth the watch! 🥰
2. So, I haven't dropped it yet but again was very close to it in ep 2. That actor is annoying, apparently has never heard the word NO, has no boundaries and he thinks himself cute. So not cute and even less romantic! This is turning into a hate watch accompanied by rants. It sounds fun! Go Ji, stay strong!
3. I was hoping that the sound effects have just been an accident at the beginning of the first episode. No way! They are back with vengeance at the beginning of the third!😭😭This drama has all the tropes from three years ago. I had thought they had moved on. No such luck! Moreover, the actor is being creepy, using a kid and not cute at all! And now he wants to be friends! I think I have definitely seen too many bls!🤣🤣Pushy ml, disregarding other people is definitely to my liking. What is the most infuriating is that the doctor is going to let him do everything he wants and since he's had a crush on him for ten years it is not going to take long. I noticed one item of progress in this dramas: everyone is wearing a helmet nowdays when they are riding a motorcycle: it was not the case a couple of years ago so the new law must have been implemented in Thailand? I love that "doctors saving lives" mission dramatic music, slow motion walking through a long corridor with hands in the air: I could not stop laughing: they look like kids playing doctors! The flashbacks a spaced nicely and giving just bits and pieces of the backstory which correspond to present events. Nicely done! But why does Ji carry a tote bag? This is just another infuriating bl trope: ukes carry totes and semes backpacks, even though they gave him a backpack in the present too but it is colour coordinated with his t-shirt!🤣 Fluke looks so much like a typical bl actor from three years ago (he's the spitting image of the guy from UWMA!) That bridge in Chiang Mai is always empty when they are crossing it together: but you can see in the background that the production stopped the traffic at the entrance to it!
One HUGE positive point so far: not one single PPL! Amazing! Incredible for a thai bl! At least two points gained on my final rate for sure! If they manage it until the end!
4. So I went and got myself a pot of ice cream (B&J Cookie Dough) convinced that it would calm my ranting mood down. I am sorry to say, it did not! I am getting angry with Ji now: I thought he was strong but he is buckling so fast under pressure from the Achi that it is quite disturbing and disappointing. Achi is a charming and selfish man who thinks his pushy behaviour is cute but I thought Ji was better....I guess when you've been in unrequited love for ten years, you admit defeat quickly. And then, they threw us a curveball: Achi has had feelings for Ji forever, he never wanted to be his friend! The whole story gets turned upside down! What happened between them 10 years earlier? Why did Ji pretend to be interested in Pear, a girl from Achi's school? The plot thickens!!!
5. Achi telling a bedtime story with puppets was the cutest ever, in the flashback. Poor guy, he keeps confessing to apparently completely clueless Ji. This is getting better! Yey! So much cuteness in this episode. They have both calmed down and are going slowly...Nice! Nothing to rant about!
6. Some very long scenes with a patient in hospital: his cancer made Ji think about his own mother and yada yada yada....They wasted over half an episode on it. But then they went to flashbacks and to ten years earlier: cute and fluffy! More please, I want more! And I was given more! Junior, the actor playing Achi, sings a song: he has such a lovely warm unusual voice....Fingers crossed they finally start talking to each other and not skirting around the most important questions in their minds!
7. I wonder which gay arthouse film did they watch that made them all hot and bothered like this? The lovemaking scene was beautiful and the aftermath of teens not talking probably typical, separating because of a misunderstanding.... While trying to save some face, they ruin everything! Actually, now I am getting angry with the young Ji. I know, teens explore, do not understand and all that but it's been months that Achi has been giving him hints and signs that Ji keeps ignoring. He is a smart kid so...Why? Poor Achi....Poor me! My rant has made a 180° turn and now I am not happy with Ji, the one in the past not in the present!🤣🤣🤣Yes, finally they talked! It only took them ten years. Better late than never!
8. Well, nothing runs smoothly in heaven, apparently. They are together, but things are not all cleared up and Ji is hesitating. Again. So his best friend tells him the simple truth: "Stop playing games and just be together!" It falls on deaf ears? I hope not! One thing has been bothering me since the start: why does Ji constantly wear his doctor's coat outside hospital? He doesn't have time to change before going home? Ever? I am not a medical professional but isn't reattaching a finger a more sensitive operation than placing a hip screw? I'd say yes! So he was an expert surgeon in the first episodes (and that was already hard to believe) but now in the last episode he needs to be supervised? [Microsurgery: Reattaching a finger and restoring blood flow is delicate work, since each digital artery is a millimeter in diameter, decreasing in size (as it moves from the top of the finger to the bottom) to fractions of a millimeter before branching into capillaries. ] Of course they had to ruin the last minutes with Achi's concert and his awful hair and too much lipstick. Who finds that quantity of lipstick on a man attractive?

This turned out to be a great watch after an iffy start.

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Game of life....

Apparently, I completely misunderstood this drama. To my defence, I never read the webtoon so I judged it upon watching. I don't know if the plot is clearer there but I was quite confused with the ending.



First of all, I loved it: it was beautifully filmed and skilfully acted. The director loves original angles, ceilings and shadow contrast shots: excellent camera work! Actors are just as amazing: rarely have I seen such emotional, true acting in one of these web series. Music was nice and not intrusive, so we could really enjoy the plot and try to figure out what is what! LOL

Secondly, the plot was original, a device seldom used in k drama: transmigration. I said seldom, not never, and not as much as in c dramas. A 29 yr old sad and depressed man criticizes his friend's novel which is about to be turned into a game. After drinking too much, he wakes up inside the game as a 19yr old high school student, but with the life experiences of a 29yr old, and if he wants to live, he has to complete different tasks. When he leaves the game he is deleted from it but a couple of characters still vaguely remember him; How? Why? Then he kills himself (apparently he never learned anything!) and he is sent back into the game.
The biggest part of the series takes part inside the game. That's the problem I had with it: is the game real or is it an allegory for afterlife (since at one point, the ML comes out of the game and promptly kills himself! Or does he?) or is it that his friend based a character in the game on him....I don't know!
I was expecting a different ending. Something along these lines: ML learning to know himself through the game and finally realize that his novelist friend was in love with him (the vibe was of stratospheric proportion in the first episode, the chemistry hot and therefore I suffered from second lead syndrome!LOL That never turns out well in K dramas!).

Finally, in spite of the lack of straight explanation, as I see it, and after being told off, I am just going to take it literally, in the sequence and do not think about it logically! I was told that the game is the afterlife and that the ML was dead from the beginning. That's not what I saw. I'd like to say it is open to interpretation but...forget it!

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Adorable and endearing: a hidden gem!

Believe it or not, I dropped this drama twice! I tried watching it but could not get past 20min of the first episode. Twice.

Then, a couple of days ago, I decided to fish it out of my dropped list and give it another go! Kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel. I thought! I was so wrong! This drama does not belong in the bottom of the barrel. No way! It is sweet and cute, a normal romance!

The story about straight laced, rigid ad executive's repetitive clashes with his complete opposite, a messy painter were sweet, charming and adorable.
Singto is so hot as an adult in well tailored suits. Tae as the painter, is perfect: a big child lacking maturity and seriousness but brimming with talent and charm, is a fitting opposite. To my enormous surprise, I found myself enjoying this childish character: for once in my drama watching career, I was not annoyed by such a character! He was endearing. I wanted to grab him and hold onto him and cuddle him and tell him "well done"! I mean, look how cute he is collecting animals amongst which a cockroach named Steven! Too cute!
Singto and Tae had great chemistry together. So their characters' relationship was credible: both are in love but both suffer from a ton of insecurities which keep them closed off. They are attracted to each other so much so they sleep together. But what they do not do is really talk to each other. Add to the mix some, unavoidable for a romcom, misunderstandings and you have the makings of an excellent romcom.

While the romcom part stayed on rails and followed its natural development through every possible romance trope (misunderstandings, drunken confessions, break up, time jumps -only three months, but still....) some other plotlines were abandoned quickly (a series of suspicious accidents which led to believe someone was behind it but it turned to nothing) or just skimmed (cute office romance, the CEO's friends: how, why?). It was nice seeing the actor who played Techno in TharnType again...

I simply loved the music: they managed to do away almost completely, with the usual thai funky songs which are all similar and they used some nice arrangements of classical music. The animated opening credits were my favourite and I never skipped them (which I usually do when watching a drama!)

But of course, they had to almost ruin everything with an unconvincing second couple and the creepy manager. The second couple had zero chemistry and ...does Yacht EVER close his mouth? His mouth is always slightly open and when I noticed that early on, every time when he was on the screen, I was watching his mouth and wondering if he was ever going to be sitting still and listening to others with his mouth closed? No, NEVER! Sorry to say but Yacht is not a main lead actor: a comic relief support actor? Oh, yes, any time! But main roles in romcoms? Please, don't!
The other problem this drama suffers from, at least for me, are the characters of actors' managers. I still have to find a Thai drama where the manager/agent is NOT a trans or femgay character, overacting and screeching. Here the trans character was particularly caricatural. Maybe, they are like that in real life? I don't know. I would like to know! Does anyone know?
Or another thing I noticed which looked off: when the painter decides to paint wearing a white spotless shirt and when he is finished with the painting, his shirt is still spotless!His hands as well! Try simply drawing something with a felt tip pen and your hands will be dirty within five minutes.

In conclusion: I loved it. It is not the masterpiece in storytelling but it is a solid enemies to lovers drama oozing chemistry, charm and fun while giving me butterflies. There is character development: Maze becomes less stiff and the painter more serious in each other's company: their relationship is mutually beneficial.

I am only surprised at myself: why did I drop it twice in two years? I remember finding their initial relationship too cringy. Twice. Not this time! Maybe, just maybe, a string of highly hyped dramas which I did not like at all, are to blame? My taste has been honed and learned to appreciate a simple love story to its true value! Which is 9/10 with points being taken off for annoying managers.

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Hosts & Princesses

While slowly sliding into a period of slump and dropping many dramas as if they were hot potatoes, I started watching this with the same mindset. And I almost dropped it during episode 3 but I kept on watching since the episodes are really short. Moreover, the ending was surprising for someone well versed in the immutable laws of drama tropes. But more about it later...

The synopsis made me think of thai drama Mama Gogo. The plot: a woman, unsatisfied at her dead end job, unexpectedly inherits a debt ridden club where handsome men entertain bored women they call princesses and treat as such. The clash between two universes is fun, though a bit cringy, to watch. Eventually they end up changing each other.

The cast was excellent and the writing did them all justice by highlighting the lives of a few of them, their backstories and how they view their lives: they are all vulnerable human beings. That made them all the more lovable and still be complex characters which show growth.

Truth be told, I wanted to drop it very quickly: the childhood connection/first love was almost to much to bear and I watched the 3rd episode with my eyes closed: too cringy when she dresses up (unconvincingly!) as a man and tries to work as a host. But I soldiered on and it ended up being worthy the time spent.

I would like to thank the subbers who explained all the details of the host terminology in their notes on screen since the majority of watchers here are not really familiar with host clubs and the way they work. This was indeed a fascinating cultural aspect of japanese society.

Still, that is not the reason why I gave this drama a higher note then I wanted to. When I discovered the childhood connection in episode 2, I literally groaned "Oh, nooo!". But they managed to surprise me in the end by not making them a couple as we were all taught to expect: "first love is forever". This drama trope is so omnipresent in romcoms. I am glad they went with a more realistic approach and therefore I gave them one point more because dramas upending the expected solution are few and far between. The problem is that the happy couple has no chemistry to speak of. Unfortunately the first love couple had more chemistry, maybe because they were of the same age? Don't get me wrong, I love noona romances but I need to see the spark between them. Yagi Yusei is as pretty as an angel but his acting skills are lacking: every time he was on screen I thought I was watching Utsukushii Kare, the same laid back "cool, don't care about anyone" type of character pouting and busy looking handsome.

In conclusion, a nice light summer watch which will not task your brain too much! Just fun!

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Unconvincing romance.

Everything about this drama screams fake and forced romance, starting with the title!

One of the tropes I hate the most in BLs is "gay for you only!" and here it starts with the title: If It Is With You...

The plot follows the story of Amane and Ryoji, a couple of high school kids who meet accidentally and become friends. The whole romance is based on their characters and they are just not in synch! Amane is gay, has been sleeping around with older men and hiding his insecurities behind forced joviality. He is willing to tone it down but only if it is with Ryoji! Ryoji, on the other hand is serious and mature beyond his age due to the death of his father and the obligations towards his family restaurant business. He is also excessively kind which breaks Amane's protective walls who falls hook line and sinker for the sweet and non-judgemental Ryoji. When Amane confesses to him, Ryoji is surprised and ends up accepting even though he never considered the possibility of Amane being ever anything more than a friend but if it is with him...

The whole romance felt forced, they tried to make a sweet simple friendship into a love story and that is when the whole drama crashed in my eyes. The sets are pretty, the actors are cute but they have zero romantic chemistry. They are good friends who understand each other but the transition to lovers did not feel natural: Ryuji somehow seemed to be obligated by his own excessive kindness to accept Amane's confession. That felt very wrong. The friendship was great, the romance was awful!

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Wrong title, right drama....

...if you are in the mood for some IT start up shenanigans! The title is so misleading making you think that this is a makjangy sort of tropes filled drama. It definitely is not! A man who cannot remember faces meets a woman who is unforgettable and she changes him.

Just like amnesia, prosopagnosia is an extremely rare condition which is overused in dramas. Here it is taken as a comedy factor, as he seems not to remember the faces of a grand total of two people, apparently. The rest is just laziness and lack of attention, which she helps him with. The ML's behaviour and the lack of empathy and of the understanding of emotions, is almost autistic. In contact with the FL, he grows and matures emotionally. She, on the other hand lacks self confidence. Both of them together is a fertile ground for misunderstandings which we end up getting a lot of!

ML's best friend and associate turns evil when his frustration and the lack of talent gets the better of him. He foments evil
conspiracies, and when he wins he laughs like the worst of James Bond villains. But it does not last long and his redemption is speedy. I still have to find a j drama where the evil character is not evil only for about 5min. Maybe it is a good thing that they insist on redemption but it does not make for a gripping viewing experience.

The plot was interesting. The music excellent. The main actress has a beautiful smile, just stunning. The main actor (excellent acting skills!) has a terrible haircut, just awful which almost ruined the overall cuteness!

It was an excellent watch!

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Boring crime & fantasy mash up

Huh?!?!? What the hell was that ending? Did they suddenly run out of money and took a shortcut? It feels like about half an hour is missing there.....

The series was not as good as the first episodes promised it to be. The story of Tharn and Phaya, the latest reincarnation of legendary divine star crossed lovers, suggested a lot of drama and the added police subplot let us hope for some interesting action. But, after the first four episodes, the writers apparently did not know what to do with the excellent idea and everything went belly flop.
While the fantasy part of the drama, was gripping, the police part was ridiculous. As I was watching, I started writing down all the silly things they did as so-called special police force but after I filled out two pages, I decided to stop! I just wanted to ask the cast and the crew why they did not at least watch a few episodes of CSI in order to understand the police work. the level of stupidity is mind-boggling. And unfortunately, it even rubbed on the good i.e. fantasy part of the drama with main characters (Tharn) behaving more and more idiotic as the story progressed.

Good parts:
- training camp and lots of naked hot bodies (i am shallow, sue me!)
- action scenes choreography
- special effects were excellent
- Naga festival and the whole Naga & Garuda legend
- side gl story
- grandmothers (why are there so many cool grans in thai bls?)
- moping Phayu styling
- subs describing music were very creative: exciting sound, lovely sound, romantic sound, thrilling sound etc. etc.
- friends group
- skinship (the guys are obviously very much at ease with each other)

Awful parts:
- policework
- Tharn losing braincells as the plot progressed with his reactions getting dumb and dumber
- the ending (Tharn spent a couple of months talking to the bad guy who had been holding grudge for an eternity and everything is forgiven?!?!? You must be kidding me?) and the writing in general

What an utter disappointment! This should have stayed on my dropped list but I did not have anything else to watch so....
The actors were all excellent though the actor playing Phayu has a forgettable face, so much so it took me three episodes before I managed to recognize him in a scene with others. The writing was terrible. Cinematography and special effects were stunning. The episodes vary in length from 45 to 90min. Most of the later episodes I spent playing games and barely watching especially crime investigation scenes.

This drama had a promising premise but the execution is lacking and the mixture of fantasy and crime drama does not really work.

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Blue pool of destiny

I loved it! And even though its flaws are many, I have enjoyed this immensely! Now I am more than certain: I love thai BLs rated below 7.5. Those above I find unwatchable!

The plot is rather original: involving a blue magic waterfall pool at a full moon which connects two parallel universes and a man accidentally crossing the boundary, deciding to help his boyfriend's counterpart and ends up falling for a bad boy with a heart of gold! I am a sucker for such characters: apparently ambiguous and grey but deep down kind and righteous!

BTW, this year's thai bls seem to swing between parallel universe and vampires! Full marks for originality, sincerely! I cannot watch another school BL....

Unfortunately, in spite of its original premise, this drama does not manage to avoid many heteronormative tropes. The main character is uke, Kram who seems to be smart and unexpectedly strong even though he is slight in built. But after a couple of episodes he becomes the stereotypical damsel in distress with a baby voice! That was a disappointment. Tai, on the other hand is a typical seme, macho, strong and silent type, gang boss' son but actually nice. And, oh boy, does he take care of his Kram!

The acting was top notch from the entire cast particularly the actors playing parents who were here less two dimensional, clichés. I don't particularly like the height difference but the actors had decent chemistry and were very much at ease with each other so I managed to bear with it! The cinematography is beautiful as well: the drama takes place in the jungle so the feeling we got from the screen were dreamy, subdued, fuzzy and sparkling. Amazing! The music was probably the best I've ever heard in a thai bl, completely different from the usual fare and more reminiscent of c drama music with a lot of flutes and some romantic piano music, it actually gave me butterflies. The poster for this drama is just awful: dark and scary and it does not present it in a correct light because there is a lot of comedy carried on expertly by the second couple!

The packaging of this drama was perfect. What was missing was the content: after the initial promise, the package was actually empty. There were gangsters, murders, kidnappings, painting, running around and plot holes...I am still trying to figure out why would Tai's father kill himself after killing his own boss and coming out on top of the mob world? Completely illogical in my book!...There were many make out scenes, beautifully filmed and choreographed (the second couple go full monty on us, from the back though...) but too many and too long! There was a mysterious illness and a lot of blood spitting, again reminiscent of c dramas...

I still don't know how I feel about the ending. It was a happy ending and the main couple get their happily ever after but it had left me with a bitter after taste since the other version of a MC gets his redemption but does not get to enjoy it. I guess they needed to make space for the original version of the MC but it does not sit well with me.

Nevertheless, I loved this drama but you need to go in it well aware of its flaws, that it is fantasy and that the phones are nowhere to find! Almost! That was refreshing!

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Love & candles

Apparently this is based on the K drama with the same title. I have seen said drama but years ago and all I remember are the candles and the Himalayas. But I remember liking it (though when time travel is concerned, i am not picky: I adore the concept!).

A man discovers a bunch of candles that can take him back ten years so he uses them in order to save his girlfriend's life. This is the basic plot: but it is eventually really complicated, with many changes accomplished in the past which radically alter the present.

I have to give it to the writers: every time I'd see a plot hole and say "Aha! Gotcha!" , they'd find a perfectly logical explanation in accordance with the overall plot. It is practically foolproof if, of course, you accept the original ridiculous premise of time travel inducing magical candles! There is also the advantage they had going with the short format: they did not have too much time to ruin the drama with unnecessary subplots and complications.

Production value is excellent, the pacing perfect, the acting solid, music nice.

Since it is a c drama and since they are not allowed to do time travel themed series, there is an epilogue after the credits of the last episode which explains, using some incomprehensible mumbo jumbo, that the whole thing was just a coma dream. The full version (3h50 on youtube) does not feature this epilogue so you will be left wanting answers since the story is incomplete (or rather left on a cliffhanger!).

Definitely one of the best short c dramas!

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Free will or the fate

I somehow grew to like these short historical c dramas. First of all they are short so they do not have time to waste on fillers and unnecessary side plots. Second of all, they are historical i.e. costume dramas which have no relation to real history. And finally, they are pretty to watch: pretty people dressed in pretty clothes inside pretty sets accompanied by pretty music.

Fortune Writer is one of the better ones, combining seamlessly costume drama and characters-inside -a-book drama. Even though the plot gets a bit complicated and repetitive, it is certainly worthy of the watch.

The story follows Yun Qui, the daughter of the Prime Minister as she realizes that she is a character in a book, written by the fortune (or fate) writer and decides to rebel against her tragic fate by lying and manipulating other characters. I loved the FL: she is an unabashedly gray character, not entirely evil but not far either. When the drama started, I thought she was a side character molesting the usual pretty and kind princess.

The story is tightly written. The mysteries are revealed one at a time steadily. The characters are not what they seem to be , there is a depth in them which is a nice change for a short drama. The main point of the story is the duel of wits between YunQui and the Fortune Writer. She is convinced that she is the sole master of her own fate which the FW refuses to admit. The whole concept of FW is an interesting one: they come into existence when individuals have something they deeply desire so in order to obtain it they are allowed to manipulate the lives of other people. The FW invades bodies of such people. Yun Qui refuses the offer eventually, and lets everyone in her vicinity have free will. Could this be a pique to the current politics? I wonder....

The acting was solid though I found the chemistry between the leads lacking: the main actor has one expression throughout the drama. Whether he is in love or in pain, hungry or constipated, it is always the same stony face! But I loved his line: "Just keep lying to me! I don't care!" He was in love!

I needed to suspend belief a few times especially when falling off of a cliff or when arrow wounds were concerned. At one point, the FL has an arrow buried in her shoulder, pulls it out (no visible blood) and continues as if nothing happened. When a friend sees her a few minutes later, he gives her a handkerchief she uses to wipe her chin, the arrow wound has somehow magically disappeared. This made me lose concentration badly!

Another good point for this drama is that the version on youtube is mercifully free of audio problems: they found the way to air a complete drama without cutting the sound. This is the first!

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Love knows no obstacles

Well, this was a perfect romcom for a Saturday evening!

And it is just a romcom that does not try to be anything more than that: so no dealing with lgbt issues, no history context issues, no family acceptance issues. Just a romcom! Fun, funny, sweet, butterflies inducing chemistry...what more do you need for a relaxing evening?

I have been aware of this drama but since the rating was very low and comments not good, I was never tempted to watch it. Until I discovered today that there was a movie version of it. I was actually looking for a BL to watch tonight and it was a toss up between this and Venus In The Sky. I am so happy that this film won!

The story: a man dresses up as his sister who ran away, and takes her place at her wedding. Afterwards he asks her husband to wait a few days until his sister is found. Since nobleman Ryu's mother is of fragile health, they decide to continue with the charade for a few days. But the forced proximity makes them get to know each other well and feelings start growing between them.

There is a lot of comedy, smart kind involving secondary characters: Mother heating up the room to make them undress, Ryu's friend who falls for his "wife" and sends "her" love letters even the jealous little sister pranking. There is not one single mean character, surprisingly.

The characters live in their own universe apparently: it is a costume drama but we do not know when because that is not important. Nothing exists outside this little world and I was fine with that. I was not expecting it to deal with the lgbt issues in the past: that was not the point of this film.

I have not seen the drama but this film version flows smoothly. The characters are sweet and nice. The main couple have great chemistry. The actor Han Se Jin, playing the brother dressed as a sister, is beautiful. He made me think of the japanese actor Yutaro: same kind of actor! Actually he looked better in a dress than in a hat (but anyway nobody looks well in those hats!).

This is just a regular costume romcom involving a crossdressing main character but it is amusing, well written and acted. Towards the end there is a bit of too many flashbacks, same scenes over and over again. The music is really nice and the final scene gave me butterflies....

This was a nice and light, amusing and warm, a perfect relaxing watch. I want more like this!

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