Bad Buddy (2021)

For all the hopeless romantics, this is an absolute treat.

For all the hopeless romantics, this series is an absolute treat, delivering a heartwarming experience.

In the beginning, I expected another cliche and not properly thought-out university drama. Been overdone now, but I carried on. While reading this review of Bad Buddy 2021, keep in mind that I started watching this movie expecting it to have a lot of NC scenes (No Children scenes).

Bad Buddy was a generally great series, the actors did a good job in bringing the characters to life. It has the power to make you burst into laughter, shed a few tears, and even feel like dancing around the room.

Firstly, the acting is truly commendable, with the cast delivering impressive performances. What sets it apart is how genuine the reactions and physical interactions feel; there's a naturalness to their chemistry that never comes across as awkward or forced. The relationship depicted in the series steers clear of toxic dynamics. Instead, it keeps you engaged and wanting more.

Pat brought sugar and fun to Pran's uptight character. Pat was the comedian of the duo. And I think they had one of the most beautiful kiss scenes I've seen in a Bl series(Pat and Pran's first kiss)

If you're like me who starts certain BL series with NC expectations, perish that thought because, on a scale of 5, this series is at 0.5 with the steamy content but is 4 out of 5 stars in general. This is a 4 because while it's an overall great performance, I refused to see the hype behind this Bl series and in my books, I've watched better like Kinnporshe, and even The Eclipse.

Maybe my opinion is biased because these series that I consider better than Bad Buddy are more recent and the industry has progressed.

Also, I still found bits of this series cringe, and the plot is not very new. It is still another university BL drama but was just executed better.

👉Read my full review through the link in the comment section.

All in all, I do recommend it.

Lire davantage

A BL Drama for the Queers and such a fresh breath! Sets the bar high for the industry.

23.5 is airing currently and after watching the 1st episode, I found out that Milk & Love (the two actresses who play the lead couple in 23.5) are also a side GL couple in Bad Buddy! I didn’t even know there‘s a lesbian couple in BB, when I added the series to my watch-list a year ago.

Bad Buddy was really good actually. I was surprised by how good – I had not expected such a fresh breath in many aspects!

It often reminded me of SOTUS & SOTUS S... But it’s more of an “updated”, more modern version of S. It’s like what S & SS could’ve been, if homophobia hadn’t been such an issue back then.
Which is nice. S had been (and maybe still is) a classic in the (Thai) BL fandom, but essentially is very outdated already. BB shows how much the world/genre has changed – for good. How much we’ve grown. A new, better generation started.

While most BL Dramas are made for straight women, this series feels like it’s been made for us, the Queer community.
PatPran’s relationship is so healthy, so natural and just happy vibes. They’re not together because the “kisses are hot”, but because they’re each other’s safe space. All the physical stuff that comes with most romances is more like a side bonus for them, but not the main reason for the relationship.
They communicate and respect each other’s boundaries. They fight for happiness and don’t let jealousy get the better of them. (Thus resulting in plot points being cleared quickly, without unnecessary dragging.)

Not only that, it also calls the toxicity of other BL Dramas out, especially those that are very heteronormative & stereotypical. Plus it shows how to do it better. Some quotes as an example:
1.) “I can’t say exactly when. I don’t even know for sure when I changed. Maybe I’ve liked men for so long, but I just realized it.” – Pat
“I thought you’d be like: ‘I’m straight but Pran is the only guy I like.’” – Pat’s sister
2.) “Does calling me a wife make you feel superior?” – Pran to Pat

And finally: SWITCHES!!!

Not only was it not heteronormative, it also had no homophobia.
Just like Only Friends, a world where queerness is simply normal and not very special anymore. That was for example shown when a guy had a crush on a girl, but that girl was on a date with another girl and he realized he was totally third-wheeling, so he stopped pursuing her and accepted his “heartbreak”.

Generally, female characters are treated well.
I’ve mentioned it in my review of Only Friends already, but even though BL Dramas have women as its target audience, female characters are usually treated the worst, for some reason.
Not here.
Except for Pat’s attitude towards his sister, there was no misogyny present at all and females are actually respected. As you can see in the example above, GL isn’t seen as “girls being girls” either.

Parents actually seemed like parents.
Writing a realistic & natural family dynamic is apparently difficult everywhere in the world. But gmmtv managed to write the parents as people, not just characters who have a certain role in the MCs’ lives. Conversations felt natural, not scripted, and their dynamics felt real.

The “rivals to lovers” trope was also really well done. Even though they were more like frenemies, their rivalry didn’t magically stop once they started dating. Their bickering totally continued and they used that to their advantage in the relationship (e.g. by pushing each other through competing).

I loved the comedy.
Just like in Only friends, no one served as the comedic relief, everyone had funny scenes. Scenes that went along with the story and weren’t forced in. Scenes that felt natural, not written. Scenes that will still make you laugh even after re-watching it for the 10th time.

The actors' chemistry is just as wonderful as in Only Friends. Maybe even better, since PatPran’s relationship was much more explored on the romantic level, than any of the couples in OF.

~

Mixed feelings:

Upon first watching, I wasn't much a fan of Pat's personality, but that's mostly because of his attitude and the way he was treating his sister (Pat's family dynamic generally is rather toxic, compared to Pran's). But he warmed up to me in the 2nd half and especially when he was using that "charm" of his to help Pran out. Plus, Pran didn't let Pat win as easily, so there's also that. They balance each other out and you can see why the universe paired them up.

At first, the reason for the feud seemed pretty anti-climatic. The way it was built up and given it’s a drama, you’d expect something more “extreme”, more devastating.
But after re-watching and imagining myself in the person’s situation, who was the most hurt by the reason, it is actually pretty dramatic. I guess the problem was just how they revealed it, that made it seem like it’s not really worth being so upset about it, but if you really think about it and put yourself in the shoes of the person (and think back 30-40 years, times were different), it gets more understandable. And totally valid.

The zero waste village was rather contradicting. As an environmentalist I do like the idea and am glad that gmmtv uses their popularity to talk about these things. However, on the other hand, the amount of plastic they've used and continued to use, as well as promote brands that are just plastic...

~

Overall I love it, it's become my favorite of gmmtv.
I watched it on the 12th March 2024 the first time and re-watched the entire series just one day later. I'm swooned and can't help to come back to them.

Lire davantage

10 estrelas

achei q o bl em si foi um "breaking stereotypes" mesmo a história sendo "cliche" tiveram bastante coisas q eu e talvez muitas pessoas não esperam em um bl, como por exemplo um casal safico, o fato do pat ser o cara muito músculo e mesmo assim ser um bottom. Eu particularmente gosto bastante da história, achei legal esse lance de Romeu e julieta versão gaykkkk, além do cast ser impecável, caras nos temos o Drake e o mark no mesmo cast, nanon, love, milk, ohm pawat, Jimmy!!!( lembro q na época de estreia o elenco era super unido, postavam coisinhas toda hora, sem dúvidas um dos melhores casts se não for o melhor. No geral, sou apaixonado nesse bl, o melhor bl do aos!

Lire davantage

NOT MY BL ROMANCE TOTALLY

Yes, you've seen it on my headline. This is not my BL romance that I need but this is one hella CUTEST, CHEESIEST and MOST ADORABLE couples in the BL Drama world.

The plot goes from your usual enemies to lovers. This shows the struggles of two young men who fell in love with each other despite of their family circumstances. I love how they choose the parents' rivalry as the reason of the two main characters competing with each other. The setting of the drama is very common but they made the atmosphere of the whole series to the next funniest level, Thanks to the non-stop comedy!

What can I say about this epic casts aside from nailing their roles so hard? Nothing but praise-worthy!

This is a must-watch! Although I was a little bit worried in the first episode, but I was smiling and laughing so hard all throughout the series.

Recommendable drama!

Lire davantage

É ATÉ OK MAS É MUITO IRRITANTE

Vamos lá, quando cliquei para assistir essa série eu não estava esperando muita coisa pois a capa não me chamou a atenção mas decidi dar uma chance e foi uma experiência até que ok mas com muitas ressalvas.
Tem tópicos que eu gosto nessa série (enemies to lovers/ vizinhos de porta/ romance proibido) e foram esses tópicos que me mantiveram assistindo até o final.
Já a construção eu achei ultrajante e eu vou te dizer o motivo.
Desde o começo existe uma rivalidade entre as famílias do Pran e Pat e por isso eles sempre tiveram uma inimizade mas vamos descobrindo que um sempre gostou do outro, só que do começo até o final eu achei o Pran insensível por mais que ele gostasse do Pat.
Pan o tempo todo atribui culpas ao Pat que não são dele, inferioriza o relacionamento, foge de contato físico e é mal agradecido com as coisas que o Pat faz por ele, ele só se importa de verdade e demostra seus sentimentos quando esta sozinho.
Pat é um bom personagem mas que não teve muita construção, ele orbita em torno do Pran.
Teve um casal coadjuvante que até a metade você nem sabia que ele teriam potencial pra casal e quando acontece é absolutamente do nada sem nenhum tipo de desenvolvimento ou explicação (tanto que só acontece no finalzinho).
E principalmente, o relacionamento deles já era escondido e depois quando a coisa explodiu decidiram priorizar a família e se esconder de novo assim passando menos tempo juntos (o que eu acho a maior burrice, odeio a romantização de famílias tóxicas) e depois disso um ainda foi trabalhar fora por mais 2 anos (odeio como tratam separação de anos como algo romântico sendo que é algo destrutivo e desgastante num relacionamento, passagens de tempo são intragáveis pra mim) e quando volta eles ainda estão escondendo o namoro como duas crianças.
ABOMINÁVEL.
É uma série assistível mas tem muita coisa que me fez revirar os olhos e até rir em descrença.

Lire davantage

O que eu escrever aqui provavelmente não é nem metade do que eu tenho a dizer

Assisti Bad Buddy por recomendação da minha melhor amiga que já tinha assistido duas vezes e queria reassistir comigo, porque pensou que ia gostar, e não só gostei como virou minha série de drama favorita. No intervalo de episódios que assistimos (demorou dois anos e um mês para assistirmos tudo), assisti e li outros BLs, mas nenhum me fez sentir o que eu senti assistindo BBS.

A imersão dos atores nos personagens, o "dever" pessoal de reprimir seus sentimentos para não se machucar, a dor de um possível amor não correspondido, as consequências da repetição de padrões familiares, as versões diferentes de uma mesma música na trilha sonora mostrando o quão significativa ela é pros protagonistas, tudo isso, expresso de forma explícita e implícita de uma forma incrível, numa história de romance entre dois homens que, pasmem, não tem nenhuma fetichização ou romantização de abuso, que infelizmente é muito comum nesse tipo de mídia.

É uma história completamente saudável que vai fazer você ter carinho pelos personagens principais, rir de muitos momentos bobos e toscos, e se emocionar em cenas impactantes, ainda mais se você, mesmo que minimamente, se identificar com um dos dois protagonistas.

Vale totalmente a pena assistir, e reassistir mais vezes. Bad Buddy me marcou muito positivamente e provavelmente vai marcar você também, dê uma chance, você não vai se arrepender.

Lire davantage

"Good luck, buddy."

Dawg, that was so good. The average for it was 9.45, so I rounded up. The highest was a 10, which I gave the last three episodes, and the lowest was an 8.5. This was a really good show. Two straight men in love were the vibe of this and I am all here for that. Their chemistry was so good, the tension between these two was crazy, so fucking crazy. These two, oh my god. I loved them together so much. Just the vibe they gave off, was so warm and I loved it. It took me a long time to finish because I was having a hard time getting into the show at first. It took me 16 days to complete, which is a long time because it usually takes like a day, but it's okay because this was a good show. We have some generational beef. It's joining the two, now three, that I have at a 9.5 stars because this lived up to the hype. The show was light work on most parts, but some parts were hard to get through because I am anti-description and tend to be confused very easily. They fell apart a lot, and that was a lot for me. But they came through at the end. The whole world was out to get them. Their friends hated each other; their families hated each other, and because of that, they felt obligated to hate each other. Which turned into love, wow, my favorite, some rivals to lovers! It lived up to the hype. The shows were good, the acting was good, and the singing was good. I don't like singing in Thai dramas, but the last song that was sung in the 11th episode was really good, and I was vibing to it. Their kiss scenes were really good, as was that last part of the last episode. Yes, always yes. I ate this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, bro even the goddamn midnight snack; it was so good. so very good. I am going to rewatch this for sure. A killer ending to an even more killer show. I would recommend it; this is really good. Okay bye!

Lire davantage

I MIEI ENEMIES TO LOVER PREFERITI

Mi é piaciuta molto la trama che si concentra sulla complicata amicizia e sul percorso di crescita personale di Pran e Pat.

Questa serie affronta temi come l'amicizia, l'amore e le sfide che incontrano lungo il cammino, temi che trovo molto interessanti.

Inoltre é una storia coinvolgente che ha conquistato il mio cuore da subito.

Se vi piacciono le storie che esplorano le dinamiche complesse tra i personaggi, vi consiglio di dargli un'occhiata!

Ve ne innamorerete come ho fatto io.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Lire davantage

One of the best BLs to exist.

This was almost perfect. Because honestly nowadays we come across more lust focused or slightly overdone and cringe thai BLs and it makes me sad. But this was such a delight to watch. This was the most naturally done enemies to lovers and how their relationship grow over time. Their chemistry is everything and those damn eye looks were well done. Its makes you smile and cry for these two rivals turned to lovers and we can see it from day one because thats how they are towards each other!

The actors are so naturally comfortable with each other that sometimes you forget this is not real. Nanon is such an expert with expressions, its brilliant. Definitely watch this one for enemies to lovers, friendships, banter and beautiful chemistry. I wish something this profound is created again.

Lire davantage

Bom mas não ótimo

É uma série muito boa mas eu não achei tão incrível assim como as pessoas falam.
O motivo do Pran e do Pat teren se aproximando foi meio sem sentido, eu acho que poderiam ter desenvolvido mais essa parte, ficou parecendo que eles só jogaram um motivo aleatório pra eles se aproximarem e saírem logo do "enemies".
Mas o relacionamento do Pran e do Pat foi bem desenvolvido e é bem fofo ver a relação deles se construindo.
Mas algo que senti falta foi das cenas de beijo, não que os atores não tenham entregado nas cenas de beijo(pelo contrário aliás), mas na série teve poucos beijos.
Tirando isso eu gostei bastante da série!!!

Lire davantage