Bad Buddy (2021)

Effortless

Effortless as in it is so effortlessly great, the plot is one we have seen so many other times but I firmly believe that if p'Aof wasn't the director and if he had gone with other actors than OhmNanon, this drama could have gone either way. Their chemistry truly shined and made the characters great and with p'Aof directing style it worked so well, he let them improvise and have fun with the roles and it shows.

P'Aof also brings up and breaks stereotypical tropes in the BL world.

Bad Buddy the Series is a show, if you get through it will be your comfort show, and everyone watching will fall helplessly in love with both Pran & Pat. Characters are relatable, the story is funny with hints of angst, and the soundtracks are great.

Ohm & Nanon are such great actors and they delivered such believable performances.

Bad Buddy isn't without it's flaws BUT those flaws are nothing compared the amazing performance by the cast, director, screenwriter and all of the staff.

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Two people who can't be friends can't help but be more than just friends.

I have had my fair share of Thai BLs over the years but there is something very special about this one that makes it stand out from the rest.

It's about two people who were born to be rivals because of their parents but that rivalry soon grows into friendship and into love. The story is something that is new or different, it's been seen and done so many times before in every language ever possible, Romeo and Juliet being the most classic example. But the directors were able to take that simple plot and execute it so well that it stood out from anything else.

The story was fresh, all the nasty and evil BL norms were thrown out the window and a fresh plot was given. For the first time after a very long while, a healthy BL couple was introduced to the audience. They didn't have one strong lead who was good at everything and one weak lead who was only just average. There was no abuse or rape and it wasn't romanticized either. None of the leads forced the other to do something and they talked through every problem they had.

It had the light and fluffy feeling that you look for in such a drama which takes place in university. And for once it actually felt like a normal university drama where everyone was doing things that a normal university student would do. What I really like is that the cast were also quite young and in university age themselves so it actually felt like you were watching a campus drama. You didn't have a bunch of old people trying to act like young adults and you could see the youthfulness in the cast's faces make it enjoyable to watch. The drama shows the nature of young adults so beautifully by showing their rivalry, the way they joke around and just live their life to their fullest. The cute little scenes when they are teasing each other, flirting and singing songs together.

There is a certain charm to Bad Buddy that makes you attached to it, and it is an attachment that you won't be able to let go of easily. I have never seen any Thai BL that can compete with Bad Buddy and I don't think there will ever be one.

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secret lovers, Romeo & Romeo, sunshine/tsundere, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, GL side plot

GMMTV’s flagship BL started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Juliet masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. GMMTV, we forgive you. More.

The bar has been raised, Thailand.

An adaptation of the y-novel Behind the Scenes with established BL director Backaof (1000 Stars, He’s Coming to Me, Dark Blue Kiss) who took steps (strides even) to correct for some of GMMTV’s own past BL mistakes with regards to queer rep. Production values were high (if more workmanlike than cinema-licious). Heat levels were pretty low but Ohm had his shirt off a lot (thank you) and the acting was absolutely stellar.

In the end I loved Bad Buddy.

The family struggles and toxic friendship group made it a little bit difficult for me to take at times so I am not certain how much rewatch potential it has. We shall see. However the ending was unexpectedly satisfying if not typical for romance.

Live blog of this one is here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Holy Hell

OMG!!! This is one the very first BL I am rating 10/10 it was totally awesome!!

The only con I have with this is that I watched it ongoing and boy last friday on the last episode it was bitter sweet!!!

Just the best BL you will find out there. Why? Because it's healthy, it's well written, the actors actually has good chemistry and, the most important, ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, this is the BL drama that will end all BL dramas – PERIOD!

The Music was really awesome and the characters were so well matched and paired up that you could feel the love between them. The story was fantastic and the best part there was no cat fighting or back stabbing or any parents getting in the way.

They stood by each other and worked out they issues together. Although the storyline enemies to lovers is pretty cliché and over used but if it’s done right it came be so beautiful and Bad Buddy does an absolutely perfect job at this.

Watching Bad Buddy is a marvelous way to end 2021 and start 2022…

My Friday nights are sure going to be empty... anyway let go and re watch of this awesome drama in one sitting!!!

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Pure Perfection

Bad Buddy Series is a masterpiece, the chemistry between Ohm and Nanon is impeccable and their acting is unexpectedly impressive. The interactions and sweet moments between them are natural and not cringy at all, their kisses and hugs are with emotions and heart-felt, not like some other BLs which only with heads-touching and cringy sex scenes. Moreover, this series breaks many stereotypes and also brings meaningful messages. This series is fun without any boring plots that wastes your time, and other characters are also on-point.

This series makes us hope to live for that day that we can find a partner like them! I can say that Bad Buddy Series the Best BL series of this era!

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Changes the Direction for the BL Genre

Nothing that I can say will mean anything as I sure everything has been sad and no doubt better. This is an exceptional series and changes, or at least should change, the direction of BL series. It is not filled with breakable characters holding stuffed animals and whining and pining for another for 10 episodes. This is a genuine GAY love story not filled with crap about loving the person not the gender nonsense. Surprise! They are both guys and they know it and are not ashamed of it. How refreshing! They totally nailed these characters to the point that there connection was palpably real. I think there are certain series that literally changes the course of a genre. SOTUS is certainly one and 2GETHER is another (it really did) and this is the third. This series made gay relationships look real, normal, and frankly nice. THANK YOU!
Read my full review at BLBliss.com/

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I'll never get over Bad Buddy. So this is what chemistry truly means.

When I watched the first episode, my heart sank. Not because it failed to live up to the hype after the wildly anticipated trailer, but because it was too good. How could any series sustain this quality for 12 glorious episodes? Somehow, Bad Buddy managed.

While the trailer made the series seem like a typical rivalry-turned-romance kind of story (which is fine), the show delivered so much more nuance.

Pat and Pran are forced to compete only because of rivalry between their families and faculties. From two people who can’t openly be friends, they have become two people who realise they can’t just be friends. What drives the series wasn’t so much the competition between Pat and Pran, but them navigating their friends’ and families’ expectations of who they should associate with – a particularly relatable theme for those of us living in Asian societies. To what extent should we accommodate others when it comes to love? This question is also the crux of what made the last two episodes even more heartbreaking and realistic.

A joy of watching Bad Buddy is that it feels like you are rooting for two of your good friends as they fall in love with each other. Expect Tier A acting (I won’t belabour the point on how Ohm and Nanon expertly use their eyes to communicate deeper emotions), explosive chemistry and best of all, no cringey moments. Ohm and Nanon were simply the most natural fit for their characters. Bad Buddy is an experiment gone right for Ohm and Nanon – (just) friend, acting partner and soulmate – who not only excelled as their characters individually but are also definitely better together.

Read my full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/01/21/bad-buddy-2021-review/
Why I'll never get enough of Pat and Pran in the series: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/01/24/why-ill-never-get-enough-of-pat-pran-in-bad-buddy/

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Great chemistry between Ohm and Nanon

What a great masterpiece. I really liked thi series. Hoping for a happy ending.??
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What a great masterpiece. I really liked thi series. Hoping for a happy ending.??
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What a great masterpiece. I really liked thi series. Hoping for a happy ending.??
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What a great masterpiece. I really liked thi series. Hoping for a happy ending.??
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What a great masterpiece. I really liked thi series. Hoping for a happy ending.??
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What a great masterpiece. I really liked thi series. Hoping for a happy ending.??
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What a great masterpiece. I really liked thi series. Hoping for a happy ending.??
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The story of this one BL series we all wished for so hard and finally got...

Is there any stronger word than beautiful? Just breath-taking, the best bl Gmmtv made so far, and probably one of the best BL I have ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of them).
Everything was so well written, with impressive acting and innovative storytelling. It doesn't fail to finally give us this natural, enjoyable, realistic relationship. Special mention to every BL stereotype that was broken during this series and to the adding of a powerful GL couple. The OST was on point, Nanon could sing it all. Such a big talent discovery in him, I knew him before this series and always liked his roles but with Bad Buddy, I learn a lot more about him and I fell in love with his acting, my heart is filled with his pretty dimples smiles.
Thank you P’Aof for this wonderful production, thank you Nanon and Ohm for beautiful acting, and thank you to all the persons who participated in this project. It will stay in my heart forever ❤️

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Beyond Perfection

Bad Buddy is my favorite BL of 2021, and to be honest, of all-time. Out of the 40+ BL titles I have seen, this one is the most well-made series even outside of the "BL" category. I think what contributed to how beautiful this series is the director, P'Aof, who was also behind my second and fourth favorite BL of all-time, which is A Tale of A Thousand Stars and He's Coming to Me respectively. P'Aof pours his heart out into his works, and it always pays off. It is very obvious how much effort he put into making Bad Buddy, plus the amazing acting skills of pretty much the whole cast whether it be from the main leads, Pat & Pran, all the way to the parents, friends, and other extras, this series is so well casted which is probably one of the reasons why it became successful project.

First, I have to dive deeper into my appreciation for Ohm and Nanon's acting. The way that in some scenes, they would make us feel all the emotions they were trying to communicate to the audience without saying a single word is actually unbelievable. There was no awkwardness or cringe factor at all, which seems to be one of my biggest problems when watching shows overall, I cannot handle acting that seems like they're reading off a script. This was quite the opposite, everything felt so natural and real. They single-handedly raised the bar for the standards of BL and BL actors so high up that I wonder if there will be a series by GMMTV in the next few years or so that could ever beat this level of perfection in terms of acting. I would also like to add that I appreciate Jimmy (Wai) for working hard to keep up with Ohm and Nanon's acting during that fight scene in Ep. 5. Jimmy is new to the industry and does not have any prior acting gigs, so the fact that he was able to hold that tension during that scene and be at par with the level of acting that the two very experienced actors have is really commendable.

Next, the story, script, and the way it was executed. In the past, there have been numerous BLs that seemingly have a pretty good story or a pretty good script, but turns out mediocre or even worse sometimes because of the execution. Bad Buddy is the perfect example of the way a story should be told, a perfect blend of a good story, script, and execution. When I tell you there is not one boring scene in this drama, I mean it. There were no filler scenes, no useless information, every single scene had a meaning, explanation, and reason behind it. The fact that when the first trailer came out, everyone thought it would be another cliché university-setting enemies-to-lovers trope, but they were able to turn something cliché into something that a lot of people find exceptional is truly a rare talent. There were absolutely no scenes where I felt like going on my phone like I do with a lot of (even some of my favorites) shows whether it be a BL or not. Pat and pran have one of the healthiest and strongest relationships I have seen in a BL. I won't dive deep into this because I don't want to spoil anything, but once you watch the show, you will understand what I mean. Anyways, I know some of my favorite scenes from the series are actually unscripted or improvised by the actors themselves, but I still wanna give a huge congratulations to everyone behind the script of Bad Buddy, it was flawless and so well put together.

I just wanted to add that in addition to all this, the OST tracklist of this show has been on repeat for me for months now.
"Just Friends?" by Nanon Korapat (actor who plays Pran)
"SECRET" by Kacha Nontanun
"OUR SONG" by Nanon Korapat
"Same Page?" by Tilly Birds (old/original OST)
All songs mentioned above are worth listening to. Give them a listen if you want to explore more Thai music too!
(All available on YouTube, Spotify, etc.)


Now if you're going ask me if this is a show worth watching, my answer is a big YES! You would be missing out if you haven't seen this. It is everything I've ever wanted in a BL put together into one series. I would like to say thank you to all the cast and crew of Bad Buddy for making one of the happiest and memorable 12 weeks of my life, especially because of the pandemic that is still going on, this has been such a breath of fresh air and an escape from reality for me. I would recommend this show to anyone, BL-fan or not. Thank you P'Aof, Ohm, Nanon, Love, Milk, Drake, Jimmy, Mark, Marc, Lotte, Prom, and many many more for your hardwork. Thank you for keeping me happy and giving me something to look forward to each week. Til' the next Friday @ 9:45, see you soon Pat & Pran.

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Bring tissues and enjoy the worthwhile ride.

Sobbing cause it ended even though...Yes it was a happy ending; So watch without worry for those of you who don't like sad endings. My heart is aching because I'm gonna miss them all so much. The journey it took us on was a hell of a ride and I loved it all. Only thing I wish was for... and this is where I get into spoilers so don't read on if you don't want to be spoiled... Pat's dad and Pran's mom to apologize to Pat and Pran cause I only ended up respecting Pran's dad honestly but can't stand Pat's dad the most; Like it was said in narrating tho; Not everything has a happy ending. Glad my girls InkPa stayed together years later as they should. In my head Korn is engaged to Chang instead of a girl and no one can change my headcanon on that. It wasn't clear for me if Wai had anyone but I'll go with no for his karma, since nothing really came from what happened besides his big mouth getting him in trouble. In the end I still cared for Wai but still thought he was due a bit of a punishment for his impulsiveness even if his feelings of feeling betrayed were valid; His action wasn't, luckily they weren't surrounded by homophobia. LOVE my Doctor, Jimmy tho. Speaking of the friends, I wanted to see more of them this finale, it's like they suddenly disappeared. I thought we'd see them in the time skip for the reunion but it turned out to be the reunion I didn't think of oh well lol. That ending? Screaming and that's all I'll say. This series is gonna be so missed that I'm heartbroken that it's over. It taught us lessons and gave us hope and made us feel very single and has become a for sure comfort show of mine. Everyone gave what they were supposed to have gave, especially Ohm and Nanon; Who delivered on their emotions so well. I felt every kiss conveyed such emotions with so much intensity and passion and no awkwardness, their chemistry is next level. Will we get to see them in more projects together? Hope so but if not, we get to look back on this masterpiece for their first project together as a CP.

The soundtrack will be on repeat I can tell you that. Such catchy tunes, great lyrics and vocals ♡

I thank you Aof and the writers and producers and everyone else on staff for this amazing series that subverted all the BL tropes, it will remain in my heart forever...You all still owe me for emotional damage lmao

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