Unpopularopinionbydemand

I Don't Know How to Feel...

I remember watching the trailer for this and being like, "Yeah, this is my shit, cheesy uni-love story that will be filled to the brim with cringe and awkwardness... I'm seated!" I weirdly enjoy series like this that take you out of reality to pull you into a story that's literally there to be silly and light-hearted and rather fluffy, and I feel like Your Sky did exactly that. But, even knowing what I was getting myself into with this series, I think, with some very odd twist, I didn't like this at all.

Let's Dive In.

So You Sky, produced by the same people of Cutiepie, have given us this fluffy, cutesy BL series that is literally about a fake relationship turned real. It has everything you can think of: accidental close-proximity, accidental touching, wiping mouths, giving baths, piggyback rides, around-the-waist motorcycle rides, blah blah blah. If I was rating based on the first few episodes, I feel like I would've told you this was the perfect blend of cringe and cuteness. I actually enjoyed Fah and Rak's love story, and I was very impressed by how they handled their first real kiss. but honestly, after that, everything just goes downhill for me.

Let's start off with just analyzing Teerak for a moment. For the majority of the episodes, they treated him like a child. When he started developing feelings for Fah, he literally thought he was having heart problems. What the literal fuck. I can understand wanting a character to have some pureness, some innocent-ness to them, but Rak was treated like he was a 7-year-old in a grown man's body. Which is why their NC scenes don't make sense, and are so hard to watch. I normally have no problem watching NC scenes, but the cut from Rak being this cutesy I-barely-know-how-to-tie-my-shoes to then being this sex-driven grown man was very off-putting. I wanted him to act like how his character would act, I wanted him to be shy and very giggly-like, but instead, he seemed to know how to have sex and how all of it worked. Weird. I feel like in the midst of coming up with Rak's character, the writers were just as discombobulated as we were. If they wanted him to be innocent, they should've went all the way, that's just how I feel.

As much as I love cringey, I think this series took that and ran with it. I said is somewhere on Reddit, and I'll say it here: I wanted this series to give me weird and cringey but all in a good way like Secret Crush on You, but what’s stunting that the most and more than anything, is the acting. Since seeing episodes 11 and even 12, I feel like the acting thing is more false than true, but at the beginning of this shit, the acting was just bombastically bad. Anytime Rak and Fah were suppose to have a "accidental close proximity", it was so robotic and "this is what the director told us to do" instead of feeling natural, which is why it created a certain cringe that I wasn't ready for.

Moving onto the relationships, like I said, I really liked Fah and Rak at the beginning, but could care less for them by the time they get together. I think both actors did the best they could, but Rak was literally just told to be cute, and Fah was told to only smile when looking at Rak. I hated how one-dimensional Fah was, I hate they gave him no other storyline than to be brooding and smile only when looking and mentioning Fah. Thomas is a great looking man, so it makes it a little less annoying.

The side couples honestly did nothing for me. Hia and Real were nice, but Real was a very red-flag character, and they looked over all of his toxic behavior in favor of hurrying up to get him and Hia together. I already didn't really care for them in the beginning, and I still didn't care for them at the end. Although, they did this hot pickup kiss thing, and I loved it.

What kept me on my toes was the relationship they teased with Lee and Klaijai, and then for them to do basically nothing with it. Very annoying, very much so wasted my time.

I liked that Mike is back in the acting scene, although, I will say he felt rather weird in this role only because he's such a vet actor working with these newbies. I hope he can potentially get his own series with this company. I liked Babe, and then I didn't like Babe. I liked that Rak had someone to go to when he needed to talk, but Babe also felt like a nuance in a lot of key points in the series.

Overall, my feeling is that I think I can understand people watching this and liking it if it's for the purpose of not having to think and not having to over-analyze and you literally just watch to watch. If someone is watching this and liking it because they think it's some ground-breaking, show-stopping series with the best actors in the world... we need to have a very serious discussion.

Ratings;

Story: 6.5/10 - There's not really a story. It's minor conflicts handled all in one or two episodes, minus the problem between Rak and Oh. The fluff did fluff, up until it was too much and too cringy. The romance only did it for me a little, but I'm excited to see these two again in The Next Prince.

Acting: 7.5/10 - I think Kong steadily did better for me by the end, but in the beginning, it was seriously hard to watch. The best actors hands down are Save and Auau (Hia and Real), with Babe, Oh, and Dom's actors following next. Also, Rak's parents did a beautiful job as well, especially in episode 11. Thomas was there to be hot, and I'm not mad about it, trust.

Music: 6/10 - Didn't pay much attention to it, but I do remember it repeating "Your sky" and that's it.

Recommendation Value: 8.5/10 - this is so unserious and so fluffy, just watch for those purposes only. Also, Thomas goes shirtless a handful of times if that's what motivates you.

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Expectations Weren't Just Ruined, They Were Destroyed...

When the 2021 lineup came out, Enchante was at the top of my most anticipated list. I remember thinking, "Wow, GMMTV is going to give us a series where we have little to no indication of who the main lead will end up with." I was so hyped and so sad that I had to wait until 2022 to finally watch, but I was hoping it'd be worth the wait. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I try not to go into too many shows with high expectations, but with this one, I really wanted to be surprised. But all that came crashing down before the first episode could even begin.

Let's Dive In.

Enchante is a uni-set BL surrounding our main lead, Theo, who had just returned from living in France to resume his life back in Thailand. He ends up reuniting with his childhood best friend, Akk, and they are back to themselves like in the old times. While at school, Theo writes out his feelings in a book that he thinks nobody will pay attention to until he returns again to find that someone had written a response back as Enchante. With the help of his best friend, they embark on an adventure to find out who is writing back to him through the possible 4 options that claim they are Enchante. The synopsis is what sold me on the series. A bit of a mystery, a slice of puzzle-solving (or what I supposed would be puzzle-solving), some fluffy uni tropes, and an endearing romance. Sign me up! But this series was a complete letdown and in so many different ways. There is a variety of things to do with such a unique concept as Enchante, and they don't take any of them. I won't blame this series too much, since the book is supposedly the real problem, but they had all the resources to switch things up. If GMMTV wasn't so worried about making money through this pairing, this would've been a hit series, for sure.

Getting into what I didn't like: Starting from the get-go, I don't think that this was the right novel to adapt to the screen. Granted, I've never read the book, but I was spoiled head-on before the second episode could even begin (it was a bummer, but oh well) I think as a book, the revelation of (SPOILER LARGE SPOILER COMING UP) Theo himself being Enchante might've been cool, but on screen, it feels like a waste of time. I love the concept of trying to figure out who is flirting with Theo through book pages, and it's a huge blow when it's revealed; albeit surprising for sure, but not in a good way. I kind of wish GMMTV or the director would've come up with their own similar version of Enchante, with it being obviously completely different than Enchante in all aspects, but still having that surprise element of who Enchante could be, without it being the main lead himself. Cause otherwise, after Enchante is revealed, the series to me just feels like a quick money grab and a waste of time and potential.

Getting into my problem with GMMTV, they basically told us who Theo ends up with without saying a word. With the amount of publicity that Book and Force do, it's evident they would end up together. Doing shows together, lives, interviews, and whatnot, it burns your soul that GMMTV doesn't give two craps about the concept of the plot just to gain coins from this new pair. Even when it's revealed that all the potential enchantes had a motive behind pretending to be enchante, it's still just aggravating. Cause before episode one can even begin, the plot, the mystery, the stakes, and everything in-between are just useless. Even if Enchante would've been one of the four who claims to be, it wouldn't have made a difference if Akk and Theo still end up together. The entire aspect of "who Enchante is" is now just taking up airtime for something else that could've been utilized. It's a sad c plot that was supposed to be the biggest part of the series. Cause imagine how much fun it would've been to watch five guys run after Theo and each week we try to theorize who'd he end up with. Sigh, wasted potential.

The series could just be very boring and bland at times. Getting through the first 4-5 episodes is difficult, and I would most of the time, end up falling asleep. I realized that when I watched, I would have to multitask so I don't drift off, but it shouldn't be that way. They do a decent job at the build-up of the world and the story, but it takes too long. Inevitably, this series suffered from a pretty tedious storyline.

Book and Force have good chemistry until they do end up together, and then it gets exceedingly awkward and cringey. I think finding two close friends to play a couple in a series has its good benefits, but also its bad ones. I would say they are in-between; whereas, in some cases, their closeness in real life plays out perfectly when they are just friends in the series, but when they have scenes where they have to be close and intimate, you can feel that tenseness they both present (sometimes it's mostly just Book) and it can be a bit too intense to even watch. There are some times when it doesn't feel like that, for instance, during their first kiss, and some moments when they do incidentally get close, but I felt it a lot when they kissed other times, and when they become boyfriends. Talking about incidentally getting close, there are some tropes that are way overplayed -- tremendously overused -- like the getting close trope. I love a good cliche trope if used right, but after the third time, I just roll my eyes.

The conflict between Theo and Akk in the end is such poor writing. It is so unreasonable for him to get mad at Akk, and it's even more unreasonable the obstacles he goes through to try and get his parents back together. Sure, it's a sad predicament most children have to face, but god, you're in college, handle it like an adult, why don't you. It was equally aggravating to see Theo going through all of that trouble of making up Enchante just because he wanted Akk to notice him when he could've just communicated his feelings. Of course, no story if communication were real, but wow, this is what you call commitment.

I was intrigued by Tan's little crush on Natee, but it's terribly executed. It feels pretty one-sided, even at the end when Natee wants him back, it feels more like he just wanted his friend back -- which is sad in Tan's case. But at least we got to see a healthy male friendship (kind of, sort of, not really).

Me being nit-picky, but I'm tired of seeing JJ (and AJ) always playing support roles. Please, JJ would've dominated as Akk, or maybe even one of the enchantes. God, please give the twins what they deserve.

What I enjoyed: While I would've liked for one of the enchantes to be the real enchante, I'm not mad when we find out they were all kind of using Theo for their own gain. I love a little bit of mischief and vainness, (but then we found out Theo is enchante, and by then, what's the point? Like, why did he do all of those things for them knowing he was enchante..?)

Gawin. That's it. and Jimmy, cause he's a dime to look at.

The ending is the saving grace for this series. I feel like I was a bratty kid who had to sit in time-out for acting up, but then I have a realization that I am bratty and I was acting up and I can't be mad for someone sitting me in time-out. Explanation: I was pretty aggravated that what I wanted to happen in this series didn't, but seeing how adorable they were in Paris made me realize that I should just appreciate what I got. And the little proposal was cute, I wish that Akk would've said something about France having legalized same-sex marriage before proposing, but it's still really precious.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5: Horrible execution of the Enchante plot. Especially when it's pretty much useless since we see who Theo ends up with. Just a bunch of tropey stuff between the leads, some villainess side characters trying to get their way, and sweet ol' Gawin. I'll give six stars for the parts that I did find intriguing (Tan's crush on Natee, some moments between Theo and Akk, Akk's sisters, Wayo and Natee's storyline and reason for pretending to be enchante, Phupha for maybe the first few episodes,) and a half star for Gawin and Jimmy.

Acting: 7.5: No one really stood out to me as the best, and everyone was pretty much on an equal line when it came to acting. There were a few times Force and Book gave us nothing in the expressions department, with Force probably being the worst out of the pair. I'll take two stars off for Gawin, cause as much as I love him, his acting felt weird in this one compared to the stellar performance he gave us in Not Me. Another half off for them using JJ as a supporting role for the umpteenth time. #thetwinsofGMMTVdeservebetter2k22.

Music: 8 - I quite liked it. It was super soothing and perfect for the tone of the series.

Rewatch value: 1 - when hell freezes over, I will watch this again.

Sadly, Enchante could fit into the same box of My Gear and your Gown, My Oxygen, and Water Boyy -- series forgotten for the inevitable sucky-ness of itself. I don't feel like I'm alone since the views of Enchante have been the lowest I've ever seen come out of GMMTV. I feel bad for the actors, and part of me wouldn't mind seeing Book and Force again if they can be put into a series that is well developed and actually going to follow its original plot. I really do dump on this series, and it's because I had high expectations that just came crumbling down, and it fucking hurt. I think my interpretation of how this series was supposed to be was completely opposite, and that's why the entire series threw me off with each episode. If anything, there were some really good parts that I don't mention just cause I'm so upset that I kind of look past it. But part of me does think this would be a fitting BL series for someone wanting a lot of fluff and nothing too serious.

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It Wasn't Entirebly Terrible..?

I've already written this entire thing, but my laptop decided it had other ideas, so now I don't feel like repeating what I've said (and I also don't remember all of it), so I'll just reiterate some of the things I wrote. For one, I definitely remember saying that I wished I would've watched this series while it aired since it just felt so hard to keep up with in the beginning. This series had beautiful actors, half-a-million-dollar sets, and some perfectly sculpted heat scenes, but it still wasn't enough for me to leave feeling satisfied.

Let's Dive In,

Cutie Pie is a nontraditional Thai style setup (at least that's how it felt to me) about Kuea, an undercover rebel who acts as an angel around his arranged finance since childhood, Hia Lian. Hia Lian is a workaholic whose primary focus in life is his business and keeping the promise he made to Kuea's Grandfather. Through some misunderstands, poor communication, and a couple of heated kisses, it's happily ever after, with two other couples following the same problems. My initial feelings on why I think it would've been better to watch while it aired is so that I could have time to really understand what was going on. Instead, I just went on to the next episode, hella confused and just going with the flow.

In some cases, it felt like things were happening too late, like how I went through half of the series thinking that Hia Yi and Diao were also in an arranged marriage. Instead, Hi Yi just wanted to take care of him after some childhood accident made him forget his memory (even though Hia Yi bosses Diao around. shouldn't it be vice-versa?). Same with Nuea who has an apparent crush or maybe is weirdly overprotective of Kuea at the beginning, but then it's never explained why. He's then in la-la land with Syn and you just, again, have to go with the flow.

Now let's talk about Hia Lian and Kuea who I still don't know if I loved or hated. For one, I think the actors did a phenomenal job or at least did as well as they could with the material they were given. I also liked that Kuea needed to learn how to be his whole self around Hia Lian, and that Hia Lian needed to learn how to show his emotions and love and embrace his feelings for Kuea. But what I didn't like was the constant back and forth, Lian would have to reassure Kuea every other episode that he did love him, but by the time we get to the end and Lian proposes and Kuea shuts him down, it's frustrating, especially since his reason is the same shit that Lian had reassured him about on multiple occasions. And it's yell-worthy just for them to go back to the house and everything be okay. By this point, 2x speed was used. That also goes for the misunderstanding (or bad communication) with Lian's plan to help Kuea's family, something that was added at the last minute, and left me annoyed. And sure, their heated scenes were done very nicely, and the consent was perfectly sculpted, but it's still not enough for me. They tried to explain the whole marriage thing since it's pointless to be engaged in a country that doesn't support same-sex marriage, but it's so filler that I just roll my eyes. I think this show started to rely on the heated scenes and just gave up on telling a comprehensible story. I'm still indecisive about these two, but I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm satisfied enough, but if the showrunners had focused more on their story then they really could've been the 'IT' couple. Instead, they told Zee and New to do some kissy kissy time to get away with their poor writing.

I'm also indecisive about Hia Yi and Diao who I loved, but their story is rather a dumb one. The lost childhood memory is fine, but what specifically did he forget? and did I miss it? How come Hia Yi is bossy and mean and then all of the sudden he's just super nice? I won't even get into the whole fiasco of the weird dog-eating storyline. Anyways, the same goes for them, they had great heated scenes, but something crucial is missing. I can't pinpoint it with my finger, but it's something big, and it aggravates me to the fullest. It was probably the lack of character development out of Diao who is seemingly the same person he was at the beginning to the end, or how he's just written to be pretty much perfect with none of his own problems other than getting caught in lies and not keeping things to himself. Hia Yi has a crack of character development, maybe being a bit more lenient and not so harsh to Diao, but it's nothing much, or rather to-your-face-noticeable. My critique stays the same for these two, a better story, a better build-up to their relationship, and they could've also done well with some more screentime.

Syn and Nuea are cute, but nothing more. They had great build-up, but I didn't really feel the chemistry between the actors. Again, nothing wrong in the kissing department, but it comes out of the blue that it feels more comical than realistic. Also, Nuea is not my favorite character, just because the writers didn't give him much of a story, if one at all, and we know next to nothing about him. They barely have any screentime after the public display of affection in which they start to fall off the wagon for me. I think this could've been a fun couple, but with little screentime and poor development, it just feels like they were thrown in at the last minute, and instead of telling their story, the writers could've focused more on the other two that could've used more work.

I'll leave this off on a good note and talk about some things I did really enjoy: I loved Foei, and he might've been my favorite character. I'm kind of upset the writers didn't utilize him more, and I would've rather seen his story than the third couple. Jay was also a good supporting role, but more so just because I love Perth and there's no way I couldn't love any character Perth plays.

The friendship between Diao and Kuea is nicely done, with them being there for one another no matter what, and it's good to show a healthy male-male friendship like this that is still intimate and meaningful without crossing into romantic.

I want to see this company's receipts because the houses they used are MASSIVE. And yes, BLs tend to use huge houses, but Yi's house? with the multiple expensive cars in the back? They did not disappoint in this department, and I am pleasantly surprised.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5 - There's a story, but it feels rather vague, and with the hype around this show only being because of the love scenes, it's hard to focus on this aspect when nobody else is. However, I won't knock it all down, there were a few things that I liked and it was enough to keep me watching so, I guess it wasn't all that bad.

Acting: 8.5 - I think most of the actors were good, but Nat was probably not the strongest performer, and you're only as strong as your weakest link. I've never been a huge fan of Nat's acting, but he did rather well in Y-Destiny, but here, I just feel that disconnect again. He's kind of awkward (in a good way) and it shows in his acting.

Music: 6.5 - Fine I guess, didn't really pay all that much attention.

Rewatch Value: 1.5: eh, very less likely.

I don't think this series is bad, but I do grade more harshly on things that are widely popular or hyped because I feel the need to see what others see, and 6 times out of 10, I don't. But if you are looking for some decent NC scenes, then you've got it here. If that's not really you're mojo, then this can be a series you watch later or as slow as you want. No need to rush.

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This was Wasted Opportunity

If there is one word to describe the special ep, then it's "meh". I think it was cute for what it's worth, but there was a LOT of wasted potentials. For one, What if instead of them reacknowledging how much they love each other every five words or so, we got to see them be vulnerable with each other, so vulnerable that they take it to the next level and shiggidy-shang-bang-bang for the first time? Imagine, boyfriends who have been together forever whose stopping point is a damn kiss on the cheek. ??? I think Prince and Fah kissed once and maybe Duao and Kluen did in one of their umpteenth cheek kisses. But this was just cheese on top of cheese which is fine if that's what you watched it for. I wish things would've gotten spicy because nothing happens and it's them just being on the beach and splashing water at each other while eating fried chicken.

The only thing I can really take away from this episode is that Prince is the sweetest and most understanding boyfriend toward his very busy doctor boyfriend. It's sweet to see him take the time and reassure Fah that everything is okay. I also liked seeing Prince and Duao having scenes together and watching Fah glare daggers at Kluen.

Personally, I enjoyed SIYH a lot more than SIMM, so I thought the proposal was cute, but a little performative seeing as Thailand doesn't allow same-sex marriages so then you go, "No this can't even happen so what's the point?"

Overall, I'll give it a 5. It's GMMTV so I honestly shouldn't have expected more, but I was hoping for at least a heated make-out or something more seeing as it's something boyfriends who have been in a relationship for a while would do.

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Great Until it Wasn't

Only Friends has a great beginning, but I can't lie that the incline to it being great crashed somewhere and just started getting rather tedious to watch. And don't get me wrong -- the plot, the acting, the romances -- everything worked like it was supposed to, except, still something just didn't work towards the end of this for me.

Let's Dive In.

Jojo knew what he was doing with this series, specifically with these pairings too. Putting a bunch of hot people in one frame and having them get into some heated mess -- okay yes, of course, I'm seated. I absolutely adore the concept of this BL, which I don't even know if I would label it a BL. This felt more like a genuine queer messy-gay series with no specific yes on a pairing and everybody was just kissing and sucking and fucking one another. It was about friendship and love and betrayal and hatred and loss and it worked perfectly with these actors. They put on a brilliant performance, and I can't wait to see what's lined up for them in the future from here on out.

Now, onto specific characters/pairings: I'll be honest, I would've loved a RayMew endgame. Of course, Ray and Sand worked well together too, but I'm a sucker for friends to lovers and we can't pretend like the moments that we did get between them weren't so fucking cute. Anyways, passed my wrecked ship, I'll start with Top and Mew. I absolutely hate that they ended up together. I really wish that Mew would've moved on, which might be my own bias because I can't imagine staying with someone that cheated on me, and even worse, cheated on me with my best friend. Also, yes, Boston is like a terrible human being, but if Mew can't find it in himself to forgive his friend but forgive his partner when they were both in the wrong, then Mew is being a bit of a hypocrite -- is he not? But skipping past before Top cheated with Boston, I was all aboard the Top Mew train. But initially Top only got with Mew to fill Boston's bet that he couldn't be the person Mew loses his virginity to, so now that I'm remembering that, I actually still didn't really like this pairing much. And I get it, he realized he actually did have feelings for Mew, but the intentions were still there. In reality, I give their relationship 5 months until they end for good.

Onto Sand and Ray, the only couple that I'm okay with. I liked Ray's character development a lot, which is why I can actually see this relationship lasting. They had a lot of ups and downs and honestly, the only real one I can recall is Ray still having feelings for Mew. I think they also complement each other so well that it just works. The rich with the poor, the spontaneous with the calculated, the party animal with the quiet musician, the boy who yearns for someone to love them with the boy who yearns to be loved. It was all so good. Again, I think Ray and Mew would've worked better for me, but I can see why this pairing does too, so I'm not mad about it at all.

Moving onto Nick and Boston -- thank god they didn't end up together. I hated seeing Nick just up and give Boston chance after chance, especially after they actually get together and Boston screws up again. He's just an all-around terrible person, who needed no redemption arc but was still given one (slightly). But again, Neo is so charming, so handsome, so perfect, so I can see why Nick would *shrugs in understanding*. But Nick deciding to work on himself to find the key to loving himself was a perfect ending for his character. Poor dude passed up Gumpa, so he really must've been hurting.

Mond being in this was so random and yet everything I needed and more. Dude is so pretty, so perfect, so everything. I couldn't even be mad that he was put in to add conflict at the last minute, because gosh, I mean just look at him. And the glasses too?? I'm no better than any of these characters tbh.

So what I think went wrong with this series: For me, there were a few times in which this just dragged on. Seeing Mark be hurt over and over again, Ray and Sand going back and forth, Top and Mew playing a game of cat and mouse -- and then it goes on for episodes and episodes. By the end, I was watching this at 2 times the speed. This is me being completely nit-picky and everyone else can disagree with me and that's fine, but how come we never see Ray/Sand and Top/Mew NC scenes as intensely as we saw Boston/any-boy-within-a-two-feet-radius-and-Mark? Maybe because they wanted to put an emphasis on Boston being sex crazy, but it felt weird to incorporate something for one character but not the others.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Overall, it was good. Kind of repetitive and a little bit draggy, but it still worked well and was on theme throughout.

Acting: 9/10 - I got to see Mond and Force shirtless (which has nothing to do with their acting, but they sure did show me a good performance so..). Anyways though, and for real, everyone did a phenomenal job. Again, I'll have to give most of the kudos to Khaotung who just hits it out of the park each and every time. But Mark also stood out and so did Neo too.

Music: 8.5/10: Like usual, I didn't pay much attention, but I would like the sudden shock on my face when I heard an English song playing. I don't know, it just shocks me sometimes. Also, the theme song is so very good.

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10: Watch this because the actors are gorgeous and they are kissing at least 1/2 of each episode -- and the plot is wonderful. I give it a low score because I think this would've actually worked out better had I binge-watched it. I just saw all the hype and had to watch, but having seen what I've seen, I could've definitely waited to binge-watch it.

Also, Mix coming in at the end almost felt like they were building up to a potential 2nd season?? I mean, just imagine it. And you know if Mix is there I'm also there. We shall see once the final GMMTV 2024 line-up comes out!

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Good? no. Consensual? YES!

Please don't get me wrong, this series SERIOUSLY had its faults, but it had something that I'm not used to seeing in BL, and that's consent! Everything else? Yeah, she needed some work.

Let's Dive In.

The acting was probably the worst part about this BL. The main characters did really bad, but Win's (Gun) acting was definitely the worst. It got a bit better by the end, but most of the time it felt robotic and stiff, and like he had a hard time expressing different emotions. While I do NOT believe in bashing the looks of Win (like some of you harshly do, as if ya'll look any better), I will say that he was an average looking dude, and them trying to play him off as the hottest guy on campus felt forced. The weirdest part is that they didn't need to play this trope at all, it wasn't like him being the hottest on campus drove the plot or anything, so it's pretty irrelevant. Most of the time I hate this trope because the cast in BL series are equally attractive, and none are overly-cuter or hotter than the rest. Just like Pha in 2moons2 and Sarawat in 2gether, they are played as the hottest on campus, but all cast members are attractive, so it makes no difference.

The one reason this couple is rated higher than the other En of Loves is because of one reason: CONSENT. I loved that even though Bar didn’t like Gun at first, Gun wasn’t forcing himself onto Bar and instead was just being there when he could. We have to speak about their first time because it was everything. We need more of this in BL!!! Bar made it clear that Gun needed his consent, and when it was given, Gun still was being patient and cautious. Even when they were kissing and Bar told him to wait, he immediately stopped and made sure he was okay and still comfortable. I LOVED IT. That scene is what really sold it for me. Had consent not been so broad in this series, then it would definitely be rated at a 5. But, because we weirdly don't see much consent in BL, this gave me a burst of hope that others will fall behind.

Besides that WONDERFUL moment, this series was stupidly rushed. Like, ridiculously rushed. Bar fell for Gun too quickly after saying he didn't like him. I get it, we only have 4 episodes, but it was way too rushed. Don't get me started on the whole "Moon" competition. Cringiest thing in humanity, I skipped all of it. I can't with literally any part of it.

A cringe series that was honestly one of those shows that you love because it's not good. I would recommend it for anyone wanting to see something with clear consent, but this would definitely be the last thing I'd recommend someone starting out in BL.

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A Tragically Well-Done Political Romance

Wow. I am in awe. I am not the type to be fond of romances heavily involving a political massacre or the prospects of living in secret due to high intensities of homophobia, but this was just absolute perfection. Shine, what a series you are. Mixed with the upheaval of political unrest, including student protesters, high-end rich folks, and free-spirited hippies, this series had it all.

Let's Dive In.

I want to first state how impressive of a performance Mile and Apo bring to the screen. This was their best work yet. I'd never seen Mu Huang (and probably won't), but even without my knowledge of their performances in that, I still know this has to be the best they've put out. With the addition of Son, Euro, Peter, and Kob, the acting was top tier. Paired with a delectable script, there's is no way Shine won't be finding its way into my top 5 of this year.

The story is tragic. I would not recommend this to anyone not ready for the themes presented in this, which is every trigger warning about anything ever. Nevertheless, the subjects that Shine "shine" a light on are poetically infused with passion, anger, depression, angst, and even a good handful of humor. Truthfully, this entire series is written like a poem. At first hand, it's a little hard to keep up with, and this is definitely not the series to have as a background watch. You have to pay close attention to the details and the dialogue, or you could miss critical components. Multiple times I had to rewind and really digest the words on my screen. This is not an easy watch, wait to see this for when you can sit down and really observe.

The romance in this is crushingly grievous. Both pairings have unreal chemistry, and leave you yearning so, so, so much. You have Trin and Tanwa's story that is a pleasant warm blanket until it's not. And then you have Krailert and Naran's story that is all clandestine meetups and secretive passages in the newspaper until it's gutted so hard you will cry. I am no crier, but the tears will come, trust me.

I like how accurate of a tale this is. Nothing is rainbows and sunshine and unicorns like some BLs would transform stories like this to be, it is an actual tale of what would happen if this was real life. Placed in a time of needed government reform and fierce bigotry, this was everything it needed to unfortunately be.

The saddest story of them all is Victor's. I cannot believe this was Peter's first acting gig, and what a performance it was. As Victor, he played this rebellious college student to a T. His tragic demise was such a plot twist for me. I wasn't expecting it at all, and it crushed me. I need to see Peter back on my screen. I'm hopeful he'll get new work in the coming year.

I was fooled plenty of times, but the revelation to Dhevi's wicked scheme was so left field I had to pause my screen and just sit in quiet for a moment. Throughout the series, we are meant to feel bad for Dhevi. She wants to be loved, she wants to have a child, all of which Krailert is not mentally and/or physically able to give her. So the unveiling of her plan all along and the way she dragged Krailert since the beginning was just a throat-punch to the neck. But even still, there is a part of me that resonates with her. Not her evilness, but the yearn for something/someone that isn't available. Veera's death was another hard pill to swallow, as you root for him and Dhevi for the longest. I wonder what the circumstance would've looked like if Dhevi would've revealed what she knew all along in the beginning. They could've lived in a lavender relationship whilst having their own romances on the side. Truly one of the mot heartbreaking stories in Shine.

Trin and Tanwa's story is the only one with a happy ending. Thankfully, with only a two-year time jump, Tanwa, tasked with finding his way through his depression and misery by Trin, is able to become his self again thanks to his dad, of all people. They later met, fall in love, and literally live happily ever after. That ending scene was a real tribute of long-lasting love and the possibly of same-sex couples growing old together.

Krailert and Naran...phew. That's all I really can come up with.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - Perfection. Also, just a beautiful script. A standing ovation to the writers. The cinematography, the color grading, the camera work compliment the themes in this so well. I also appreciate the hair, wardrobe, and makeup department. Actors looked like they were in the 70s. Brilliant. There are some little things here and there, but overall, amazing.

Acting: 10/10 - beautiful performances from literally everyone. Not notes here.

Music: 8/10 - I am not a music girlie by any means, but every song worked so perfectly in this. I even stayed to listen to Tanwa sing, and I never do that.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - It's pretty low, I know, but I don't recommend this unless you have the guts to handle it.

Omg, doing all of this reviewing, and I didn't even talk about the NC scenes. PERFECTION. but, BOC doesn't usually miss that nail. So if it helps, you see plenty of beautifully naked men that kind of balance out all the sad shit (kinda).

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OffGun Does Cute Well ... Obviously

There was no doubt in my mind when starting the first episode that Off and Gun were going to give exactly what I wanted: sweet, sexy, and silly -- all of the Ss! What a cute little series, packed with some great comedy and some lovely characters. However, for me, something doesn't entirely click.

Let's Dive In.

For starters, this series felt entirely like Off and Gun instead of their characters. So much to the point where I don't even remember their characters' names outside of their nicknames. If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere how this was a series Off and Gun created themselves, which is maybe why it feel so offputting. The acting isn't bad per say -- because they can act, obviously, and there are scenes that they do great emotionally in, but something in their acting didn't reach for me. It might be because they're so comfortable with one another that they start acting like themselves instead of how their characters would act. Either way, this is kind of my only argument, that it feels disingenious somewhere in the middle. However, that doesn't mean I don't love seeing these vets do their thing on screen, and of course, I was still smiling all big and happy.

So going frrm there, I'll try leaning into the relationship of Doc and Chef outside of the actors. The first few episodes sold me. I was absolutely in love with the concept of this, something not original, but such a spin with having a culinary student and another working on becoming a doctor instead of the typical majors BL supplies us with. Chef is very endearing, going for a goal that isn't all that easy to reach while still providing for his family. This is how he gets into this situation in the first place, with needing Doc's money to help his sister out. Doc is silly, he has an edge to him when it comes to his father and stepmother, but yet we see such a precious side around his friends and Chef. Their build-up is great, and their executions in other scenes set their tone perfectly, except, I was bewildered by some of the bad kissing. I'm going to assume this is more of a director's choice, but their first kiss and a few more throughout the series were just -- really bad. Others were great, just like how you'd imagine OffGun to kiss. Closer to the end, their relationship kind of plateaus for me. it's no longer exciting in the sense of Chef and Doc, and more so, again, just Off and Gun. Their individual stories capture how they come about now as adults, but there are some scenes that seem nonsensical, like Doc's dad having a nurse that was identical to his mom, which they could've played more on like being his mom's twin sister, or maybe his dad is crazy and cloned her or something. That just felt very too circumstantial. Another was Doc punching the celebrity chef guy, which yes, he deserved, but in such an environment like that one, pulling Chef away and giving a stern talking to would've been enough too. There are some others, but overall, they are good stories.

Moving onto the secondary couple, Firefly and Dynamite. So in love with their dynamic. Dynamite has this major crush on Firefly who saved him in a bullying accident, doing whatever he can to get this cute guy to notice him. In the beginning, it's a little zany how much Dynamite goes after him, especially without a backstory, which I think they should've shown earlier in the series so I didn't just think Dynamite was kooky for thinking someone is so handsome to the point where he liked them so much. Near the middle, it's when they get a lot closer, and a lot cuter. I like this aspect of their characters that pick and tease at one another and then can become so cheesy and in love the next. Their chemistry and build-up take a little bit to get there, but when it does, it's strong and very tensional. Firefly's whole problem is that he's too loyal to his strict mom, doing everything he can to please her even if it means he ignores his own feelings. This is given a resolution by the end, with Firefly's mom walking away, but then they give her a terrible redemption arc in the last episode, and it's like, okay whatever. Overall, I liked them in the beginning more than I did in the end, only because they didn't do physical very well, even with the couple of hugs and cheek kisses they gave one another. It threw off their connection to me when they did, and them not getting an actual kiss felt weird, but whatever. Aungpao did great for his very first GMMTV series. I liked his dynamic more with the trio, which is where part of this series does it for me.

Talking about the trio, they were golden. I loved when friend groups feel genuine, and you can see the different personality each of them bring to carry this heartful friendship. I loved Samsi, quite literally my favorite character to see. Such a loving guy, who just loved being around his friends, that felt heartbroken with their secrets, but in the end, knowing that they were always going to be there for him no matter what. He does comedy better than any of the other's did, except, there were some weight jokes thrown in there, which is normal for Thai BLs to do with bigger characters, but nonetheless, still pinching a nerve somewhere inside of me. I'm glad he gets his own partner, but my only argument with that is that he and Metha had built such a great enemies-to-lovers trope, so why not just have them get together?

The production value was great, with a bit too many production placements, but I'll digress. The food looked amazing, I liked that each episode starts off with showing a menu item.

Rating:

Story: 7.5/10 - Great! it flowed rather nicely, with a few hiccups, but nothing not watch-worthy.

Acting: 8.5/10 - Everyone did good, with Dome (Samsi) playing his character the best IMO. OffGun felt too much like OffGun, but they can still act. Neo did a great job, but he always does well with comedic roles. Aungpao did amazing for his first time, especially with such an already-established cast.

Music: 6/10 - I didn't pay attention to it.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - this is cute in lots of aspects. Even with my little critics of this series, I still recommend it. it's lighthearted (for the most part), pretty funny, and an easy watch.

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Wayyyy Better Than I was Expecting it To Be

I still remember when I first heard about this series, and I thought this was going to be complete garbage. So I set my expectations VERY low. At max, I thought I would give this series a 7, and now I'm sitting here writing this review knowing that throughout my watch, I was highly entertained, highly interested, highly appreciative of the characters, and absolutely loved the story and relationship. And because of that, this series is getting a 10.

Let's Dive In.

Now, I might be reaching with a 10, cause there were some downfalls, but overall, I had so much fun watching that it overpowers any instinctive problems I have with this series.

For one, the wardrobe was fantastic. I was heavily getting 'West Side Story' (cause of the gang and the fighting) vibes and only realized that it wasn't set in the 80s or 90s until I saw a phone. The hairstyles were perfect, even the color schemes, and the retro-realistic vibes from Noey and his gang. *chef's kiss*

The cinematography was also very different than what I'm used to seeing in Thai series. We get to see the character's real skin colors -- some pretty tans and goldens and browns -- and I fell in love immediately with the grain and the color schemes. This has to be one of the most 'down-to-earth' series that really goes for showing what all different types of Thai people look like (without putting any of them in a negative light). Even going so far as to show what the rural side of Thai looks like. No fancy houses and no railing stairs, just temples, and eating on the ground and everything else that made this setting feel so natural. I loved it.

Now, onto Noey and Thi. I loved the way they dramatized their characters. Thi was somewhat of a confident coward, who was fragile and anxious, while Noey was a tough and badass student who was the leader of a gang and everyone followed what he said. It was the perfect dynamic. The age gap is pretty lengthy, but they make up for this because nothing ever goes any further than a measly kiss on the cheek. We don't even get a kiss until the last episode. So that's why I'm convinced that I loved this pairing because they were able to make me fall for them without it being physical. Now, the chemistry is only decent, it's not spectacular or anything, but it gets by with the perfect amount of looks and stares (albeit, sometimes too long). To sum up this paring, they made it durable enough to get through this series without being bored. Their dynamic is very spot-on, and the character development within both of them is some of the best I've seen this year.

Which leads me to my next point, the time jump meant everything to me. Time jumps in Thai series are usually "4 years later" without any context on what those four years actually looked like, but this series did it all to the T. We see a time-lapse of their time spent together, them talking on the phone, doing cutesy things, missing each other -- even meeting up once. So we aren't in the dark about what has happened in the last four years -- we know exactly what was going on. So the ending feels literally perfect. We see what they've been up to, we know how far they've progressed in time -- with their education and relationship, so the time jump is the cherry on top of this already spectacular series.

I would love to get a spinoff for Thiw's character. I'm in love with his voice, his acting, his stature. Ohm did a great job. Phayu is also the most attractive man I've ever seen, I will need to be seeing more of him and more of him soon.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - It's entertaining from start to finish. They do such a good job at telling the story and telling it well that it's so much fun to sit through and watch. It's the perfect mix of real, funny, and romantic.

Acting: 9/10 - Really good. I think there are some moments that are a bit hard to see what emotions they're trying to convey, but for the most part, it's stellar. Ohm was the stand out for me, including Tar.

Music: 7/10 - I remember that one song Noey liked playing, but other than that, I didn't pay attention to it.

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - HIGHLY recommend. I've said it multiple times already, but this series is seriously very entertaining. I think it might've been because I went into this with little to no expectations which is why it completely exceeded anything I thought it was going to be, and turned out to be an amazing little gem.

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Irritating Title

While the title is not that important (don't judge a book by its cover) I still can't get over the incorrect grammar. Even if this is a Thailand series and grammar could be entirely different, someone could have still told them to add an 'a' in there. Whatever. Moving on, this was my second favorite En of Love series, mostly due to the patience and duality of Nuea and the warmth and youthfulness of Praram.

Let's Dive In.

Although I liked this series, it could’ve been a lot better, but then again, could have every other En of Love too. Once again, it went by WAY too fast. I liked how caring Neua was, but sometimes I got aggravated by his possessiveness when he hadn’t even known Praram all that well and all that long.

I wanted to see more of the story, but instead, half of each of the episodes were Neua posting and going through comments. Besides that, I really liked their confession. I liked that Neua was patient and sweet. It worried me at first because Praram was just in high school being crushed on by a college dude, but the creators and writers did well with the script and how it played out. I wasn’t going to be happy if they had had them hook up or even have done any type of sexual entities, but instead, they kept it appropriate for a relationship between a high schooler and a college student. The cute kisses on the cheek and neck were to DIE FOR. Once again, this series does such a good job of showing healthy and consensual conversations. Nuea saying that he didn’t want to do anything more than a cheek kiss with Praram showed that he was willing to be patient and considerate. That’s what upped this show to an 8.

Overall it was a cute 3 episodes. Benz is the cutest kid ever, and I applaud the wardrobe team with his clothes cause it was very refreshing and chic. Out of all the En of Love's, I would only recommend this part. It was light, it was fluffy, it was consensual, and it was cute.

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FRANK

I would call this series more so a drama that happens to have BL leads than a BL series with drama. Just kind of how it comes off. Honestly, this was pretty tedious to get through, I did lots of skipping, and a lot of forwarding, and still I managed to understand the majority of what was happening. The Rebound offer a decent plot line, pretty good basketball, and the finest men ever on my screen.

Let's Dive In.

There's a lot to the story, but the major plot point is Zen, who use to be middle school besties/crush with Ryu. Things happen, they get to high school and split, Zen plays for the school and Ryu is this street-basketball bad boy. They eventually meet again, and right around the time that the boys' basketball team gets cut because the seniors were caught doing drugs. Ryu eventually plays with them, more shit ensues, but it ends up being happily ever after.

The only thing that was hard for me to believe is that any of these grown-ass men are high schoolers, which is honestly the reason why this gets a little tedious for me. Just cause they gave them hideous haircuts does not mean they automatically pass as 17-18 year olds (also, yes, Ryu was suppose to be a "bad boy" but he he had way too many tattoos to come off as a teenager).

I really enjoyed some of the relationships we see in this like Lin and Ton and Zen and his grandmother. I think those were probably the only relationships I cared about.

I'll be honest, I started skipping through this after Zen and Ryu's first kiss. Lot of what this is a bunch of miscommunication, misinterpretations, and blah blah blah. They give use another couple which I cared zero for, and the only ones I thought were pretty cute (Shogun and Jedi) were given nothing.

Meen and Ping are cute for this, and they execute it well. Do I necessarily care for the chemistry? Not really, in fact, I find it a little boring, but not bad enough for it to ruin the series.

Moving onto the reason this honestly didn't get dropped: Frank. Frank. Frank. Frank. Frank. I need Frank in my life if you didn't know. When did Frank get so devilishly gorgeous? And then you give me a scene where he's touching himself and basically moaning into my headphones?! I'm deceased. But outside of his incredible looks, I don't think I've seen Frank in a leading role (support but still) in a long time. I think his acting is decent, but it definitely never just clicked for me in this. Thank god he's hot.

Overall, this series just wasn't for me. I do appreciate that everyone looked like they could actually play basketball and that they at least knew what a court looked like. I appreciate the cinematography that looked different than what I'm used to in a Thai-BL, gave me Your My Sky vibes for sure. I also loved that they were all so tan and had such beautiful complexion. Yippee.

Ratings:

Story: 5/10 - not for me. Skipped through most of the drama with Ryu and his guardian (also Nannon, I forgot to mention how fucking sexy he looked too). I did enjoy the stuff with the basketball team and Lin and her father. That's kinda it.

Acting: 8/10 - Decent. Good. No one stood out over anybody, I think everyone did as good as they could. Nothing too bad, nothing too good.

Music: 7.5/10 - My sister watched this before me and loved the OST. I've heard it played in the car many of time, so it is very catchy.

Recommendation Value; 4/10 - Ehh. One star for the actual series, three stars for Frank.

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Highly Anticipated, And Not Disappointed

I've heard nothing but good news about Jazz For Two, and I usually get a bit skeptical about BLs that gain a lot of popularity in a short amount of time, cause people's opinions can be so skewed with a popular series, but honestly, for once, the majority of them got this right. Jazz for Two explores the very emotional, very toxic relationships of two pairings, while also giving us some fabulous instrumentals.

Let's Dive In.

Again, going into this, I didn't give my hopes up to see anything worth watching, but after episode 2, I was on the edge of my seat. JFT isn't anything we haven't seen before: high school students playing instruments who fall in love; but the acting in this is what makes this series stand out so much to me. They do an excellent job with emotions, even Taeyi who has one facial expression, but he has so much expression in his eyes. Hangyeom (Doyoon) absolutely stole the show for me. I was shocked to see this was his first acting gig outside of his idol stuff, because he did an absolutely fantastic job. He had the perfect mix of funny and serious and happy. Absolutely adored him, and hope to see him in so much more in the future.

Moving on to the lead pairing, Taeyi and Seheon, they had excellent chemistry. Mixed with the finery that is Hogeun, and Jinkwon's cuteness, they did an excellent job at selling their connection. I love a slow burn, it's my favorite thing in their entire world, and this couple did that to a T. They have such a strong build-up, and leave the audience yearning for more, and that's exactly what I love. Once they get into their relationship, you can see how swiftly Taeyi's persona changes, and it's just such great character development.

with Doyoon and Juha, I wondered if they really were going to work for me, and in some odd way, they really do, except I think it's a lot more toxic (which I hate) in their sense than in Taeyi's and Seheon's relationship. Juha is the bully of the series, causing chaos in Taeyi, Seheon, and Doyoon's lives. I never really got around to appreciating him because I just think he sucks as a person, even after he and Doyoon start to work out. That dude needs therapy and a lot of it. Glad he could find some solace in Doyoon, but it'll take a lot more than that to fix his broken soul. Other than that, I think these actors did a great job, and again, Doyoon's just the best character out of them all.

I love a plot twist and I did not see the brothers happening at all. It truly is a sad tale, but it's told in such a beautiful way that I have to give props to the writers. Definitely a job well-done.

Now, the only reason this series isn't a 10/10 for me is because of how overly abusive and somewhat non-consensual these relationships are. Taeyi throws around Seheon for more than half the series, which is just so much excessive force that it completely turns me off from their romance. Same with Juha, who's only excusable for punching Doyoon when he kisses him without any prior consent. but every couple in this series kisses for the first time without consent, which is somewhat sort of forgiven in the end, but still, it's just a lot. Same with Juha, he just abuses Doyoon over and over again, even with Doyoon's very odd behavior, and even after being punched. I think a lot of that didn't have to be added, the being pushed against the wall, Seheon getting hurt in like, every episode, the cat and mouse chase from them having these fights and arguments to it being completely fine in the next scene. I know, this is how some relationships are, toxic, but my god, it's so hard to root for somebody when their behavior is like this, because if this was real life, I would've told all of them to move towns and start over, especially poor little Seheon.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Superb! It's just an 8 cause the story is rather simplistic, it's the acting that sells it. Great storytelling, it stays on its feet for the entirety of the 8 episodes, and it not once bored me. The plot twist was a fun addition, so really, such a good job.

Acting; 9/10 - Hangyeom did the best out of the cast, which is crazy because it's his first acting gig, but he did literally amazing (I'm also just remembering the same guys from ASTCO cameoed, and that was nice, also they're all from the same K-pop group, so that's cool too!!) Jinkwon did really well, followed by Hogeun who had to be stoic for most of this, but shows emotion later on in the series. Everyone else did a good job too.

Music: 8/10 - beautiful instrumentals. I didn't even mind Taeyi's singing in the end.

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10 - they did a really good job and I had fun watching it. Also, Hogeun is just gorgeous, so if you want to see beauty, watch for that reason too.

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IDK

Destiny Seeker was very confusing to get into in the beginning, but closer to the end it became more interesting until it inevitably dragged on for far too long about topics that are far too boring.

Let's Dive In.

To start off, there were so many characters in this that I stopped trying to learn names by episode 4. So for the majority of this series, there are a bunch of people on my screen that I have no idea why they're there or what they're contributing to the story, so it's an immediate snooze fest. There are three couples in this, and I can only remember the names of two. On top of that, there were so many pointless scenes full of jibber-jabber that I continuously kept falling asleep and having to go back. I skipped the entirety of episode 9 and still got the jist of what was going on. This could've been cut down to maybe 8 episodes if they cut out half of the scenes that did nothing to move the plot along.

But, with that being said, I still stayed because somewhere in this jumbled mess, I did quite enjoy the leads. Mostly because of their slow-burn relationship which I'm a sucker for. They also did their intimate scenes superbly well, and I'll applaud them for that. I think their chemistry was the strongest among the three while also doing so nicely at building up that tension so that we can actually care about them getting together finally. Even with them, there was no couple that I was genuinely invested in, I think all of them had their moments, but it wasn't anything crazy or something I'll remember past this review.

While this was the basic college/uni BL, I really liked the rivalry between dorms and people getting chosen for specific places in the dorms. I even really liked the use of their little button things and Ai and Song potentially getting caught because of the "no crossing" rule.

Ratings:

Story: 7/10 - Draggy in some parts, but not entirely bad. The couples were mediocre, and I was barely invested in any of them, but the slow burn kept me on.

Acting: 8.5/10 - The leads did great and so did some of the other supporting roles, but there was a lot of mediocre acting from some of the smaller characters, it's not so bad that you can't watch, it's just noticeable that they need more practice.

Music: 6/10 - Didn't pay much attention to it.

Recommendation Value: 3/10: Eh, probably wouldn't recommend this, but some beautiful men in this that do intimacy pretty well, so it's not a never.

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Really Cute !

Out of my BL block just in time to watch this little gem of a series, Perfect Propose. While not one of my favorites, this series was seriously so authentic in its storytelling, keeping me truly entertained and intrigued throughout it all -- and it doesn't hurt either that the actors are absolutely beautiful.

Let's Dive In.

Loved the pacing of this 6 episode series. It had a perfect rhythm of timing and plot that I was never bored or ready to skip something. I get bored very quickly with office scenes if they're not significant. This series had its times, but for the most part, it never dragged on too long, and I really appreciate that. Lately, I've been loving series that are short and to-the-point rather than long and drawn out, so I loved that I sat for a couple of hours and finished this with no problems.

I'm a sucker for friends to lovers, especially a long distance friends to lovers. The only thing that took me by surprise was their age gap as kids. I think it was fine since Hiro saw it more as just a kid he wanted to talk to and Kai was the one with the genuine crush, but that morality line is a little blurry when Hiro says something along the lines of having thought that Kai was cute as a kid, and then followed by Kai kissing him afterward. Anyway, I'll focus more on them as adults, which I think was super cute. I'll be honest, I wasn't totally sold on their chemistry in the end, but I think both actors can act their asses off. I really enjoyed watching Hiro turn into this man with an endless work life who was falling victim to its harshness, then to meet his friend from long ago and start genuinely taking care of himself -- of course with the help of Kai.

I have nothing really negative to say about this series, I think it was good, just not the best I've seen come out of Japan.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Good! Great flow, an amazing beginning, and a decent ending. Probably my favorite aspect of the show.

Acting: 9/10 - Shunya (Hiro) did his big one! Extremely great at emotional scenes and just an overall great actor. Kota (Kai), other than being a sight to behold, also did a great job. All the other actors played their roles well too.

Music: 7/10 - The intro song was cute!

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - It's pretty good and a quit watch, so yes, definitely go for it!

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Umpteenth Review to Say...Yes, It was Good!

So, there are well over enough reviews on this to where I don't really need to write one but like for every series, I still will. Overall, I really liked this. Jimmy and Sea definitely showed how well they can act and act with one another. The plot is so authentic and new that it's hard not to enjoy where all these different paths will lead, with Day's sight, with Mhok's bad boy exterior, with Porjai's pregnancy, with Night's guilt, with August's angst, with Ramon's overprotectiveness, and just so much more. Even with my fondness, of course I still see a few faults in this series, but again, this was top-tier on GMMTV's BL list.

Let's Dive In.

Again, I'll reiterate how I'm much pickier with GMMTV BL since they have the funds, actors, crew, and sources to do so, so yes, this series sadly doesn't sit at a 10 with me, but it's very close. Judging solely on episodes 1-6, this series deserves well over a 10. The setup, them meeting, the continued build-up of Day trusting Mhok, them slowly realizing their feelings for one another, their moments together, the subtle why Mhok showed he was listening and he cared (pretending to be blind, wearing the bright pink shirt because that was a color that stood out to Day, buying him slippers so he wouldn't keep hitting his feet, etc.), Day slowly realizing he needed Mhok a lot more than he realized, them slowly falling until it's recognized in a passionate rooftop kiss (of course it had to be on a rooftop, Aof's signature touch), and so many more that I could list out, but you get the point. Those episodes were so freaking good, it kept me on the edge of my seat, I couldn't stop watching, I couldn't stop falling more and more for this couple. 7-9 are good too, settling their relationship and easing into being affectionate and learning more and more of each other. 10-12 is where it falls flat for me.

I pretty much watched with it sped once we got to episode 10 and just kept that pace onward until the end of the series. There's a lot of scenes that don't drive the plot along, lots of just skinship and being cute and blah blah blah, and as much as I like that, it got to be a bit draggy. Along with that, Aof follows a strategic structure when it comes to how he constructs his plots. All of his shows follow the exact same formula, and now it's getting to be way too noticeable and way too repetitive, especially the time jumps (he loves a good time jump). So while watching, I'm catching onto what feels familiar which is causing me to predict what's going to happen next (and it does), so this series is something fresh, yet something so tediously recurring that it almost bores you to death knowing what's always coming next.

Moving onto the chemistry between Jimmy and Sea... *mwah* perfection. I'll admit, I was a little worried about how their connection would play out this time around since I wasn't very pleased with it in Vice Versa, but here, wow, I can see how much their acting and comfortability with one another has grown. Especially for Jimmy, who unfortunately still starts off kissing with his mouth open, but that's nit-picky, so let's look past that. But really, I love it, such an excellent job, fell immediately in love with their connection, specifically after the fish bowl scene. They have so many great moments together, but my favorite is them on top of the rock looking out at the last twilight, and Day saying he wanted Mhok to be the last image he sees before he goes blind instead of the one thing he's been fighting to see since going blind. Urgh, heart-tugging ain't it? Kisses were great, NC scene was beautiful, and overall, I'm happy with what we got.

Their breakup felt forced though, I won't lie. Day broke up with him because he said no to going abroad because he felt that he needed to be there for Day, which made Day feel like he'd had nothing but pity for him this entire time. Understandable, and instead of a breakup and just a, "let's not see each other for at least a year", they could've talked it out and it would've been resolved with decent communicating, but okay. The time jump was aggravating, cause that leads to so much room for the characters to change and become better, except they feel the exact same as they always did. They eventually get back together, through way too much trial and error and Day not taking any of the fault, but this is BL, so whatever.

I actually loved August's character, I could also in some way, relate to him, feeling so much pity or so much urge to make someone feel better that you'll do anything you need to, even if it means not being authentic to yourself. of course, what he did was slimy and terrible, but in the end, he did it because he cared so much for Day. Great addition to the series, along with Night and Porjai, great moments between the two of them too.

Now, where I get to be nit-picky. And before I say this, I'll just say that overall, Sea did an excellent job portraying a blind character, and I mean above any of my expectations. It's probably severely hard to act blind and be seeing, trying not to react to certain things with your eyes, not moving them too much, etc. Even with that though, my two main problems were that one, why the hell didn't anyone get this man a walking stick, and two, perception is still something a blind person who hasn't been blind all their life understands. One, a walking stick, how come he wasn't given one? Did I miss a part where Day maybe didn't want one cause he wanted to be independent, or something? Either way, he could've saved himself and Mhok so much trouble had he had one, it's idiotic that he didn't. Two, Day has been seeing for all his life, so he understands perception. In some scenes when people were talking, or he was eating, or doing something with his hands, it bothers me that he wouldn't look to that exact spot, instead he would stare off at the sky or wall or nothing. Now, obviously, he's blind, but he could still see shapes and shadows and colors, especially in the earlier episodes, so why not take the time to look down at your plate of food to try and use your best knowledge of perception to eat without getting messy? Again, it's nit-picky, and definitely not really a problem, but it's just something I happened to notice.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10: so, so, so good! it's such a fresh story that was given so many beautiful details and obviously given lots of insight from the blind community in terms of dealing with that aspect. It falls a little flat for me starting at episode 10, but I'm glad nonetheless with the way this series turned out, story-wise.

Acting: 9/10: Sea did incredible! Jimmy falling second behind in showing such good character development. All in all, the entire cast did a job well done, I have nothing in this aspect that needed fixing.

Music: 7.5/10 - You know what, I actually liked their singing, which in most cases I skip it.

Recommendation value: 8/10: I think this was such a beautiful production and some really good storytelling. I'd recommend this for anyone wanting something new and fresh to BL, and something that'll keep you on your toes cause this really did it for me.

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