Destiny Seeker (2023)

Meh

Yet another story adapted from a novel that doesn't provide much that you will remember by the end of the year... maybe you won't even remember it 3 months from now.

Once again, we have a story set up in a university environment with engineering students (seriously, with how many engineering students are being portrayed in Thai BLs, you would think the majority of the gay/bi population in Thailand is an engineer). This time, the only original plot is that each student goes into a dorm depending on their individual skills with Ai and Songkram becoming "rivals" as one goes to dorm 2 and the other to dorm 3.
Almost from the beginning, we know Ai likes Songkram and Songkram likes Ai but each think they like someone else and never really act on their crushes. Plus, being in separate dorms, they each have to maintain the appearance of having a rivalry which leads to silly/dumb situations once they start dating in secret in the later episodes.

Most of the 10 episodes go around Ai and Songkram navigating around their feelings for each other, the confusion of thinking they each like someone else, their friends, their leadership role in each of the dorms, school, mutual enemies, etc. Sadly, at least in my opinion, the situations and obstacles they face are quite dull and highly predictable. Now, I've read comments that the NC scenes between them and the other couples make up for the dull storyline, but once again, it only shows how narrow-minded we've become if we can excuse a show's mediocrity just because the actors showed some skin in some steamy scenes in 1 episode and did nothing worth remembering in the rest. The other 2 couples have their moments in the series, especially Bright (who likes Ai) and Meen (who likes Bright), but their storylines get mostly lost. Each side couple has a NC scene in one episode but aside from that and some shady moments (like when Bright forces Meen to kiss), we really don't know much about their story as nothing is fully explained as the series focuses on Ai-Songkram.

The bad guys are the typical cartoon characters that think they are super bad but look super dumb. First, you have the senior (can't remember the character's name) who tries to have Ai sleep with him in order for him to forgive Ohm's (Ai's cousin) debt and later joins Ohm in order to beat Ai-Songkram in the entrepreneur competition. Then, you have Ohm who always wants Ai to help him and get him out of trouble and one time Ai and his friends reject him from joining the group project and he ends up selling all their information and when Ai confronts him on episode 10, he tries to blame it all on Ai. Both characters were poorly written... I mean, the situations are quite surreal with an alumni turned office worker asking for sexual favors and a university student selling information to the same character just because he was voted off the team for a project. The level of pettiness is remarkable... so I really don't find a reason to have these "villains" in the show. At least, we didn't have the usual screaming, jealous, whiny female character trying to break up the lead couple with "evil" deeds like we've seen so many times in the past. And we also didn't have the crazy parents trying to send their son abroad to avoid the shame of him having a male partner or, the opposite, acting like cheerleaders on stimulants because they fully support their son's relationship.

Acting was decent, Earth is the one with more acting credits as he appeared in support roles in "Even Sun" and the disaster that was "That's My Candy", along with other credits. Bank has only a few roles in his career and Pre-Saint (Meen) and Boss (Bright) are brand new actors. The chemistry between Earth and Bank was good enough and while their kissing began with a bit of hesitancy, they managed to perform well enough. Bank had the more dramatic scenes dealing with his mother fainting, dealing with Ohm's actions, and deciding to go to Germany to work... he is not perfect, but he navigated through them decently enough. Now, the situations they had to face weren't exactly that complicated as we've seen jealous family members, sick parents, and decisions on having to move abroad for work MANY MANY times in BLs. This series was no exception as they use "work abroad" card and send Ai to Germany to develop the silly Pure Air mask he and his group proposed in the competition that we see 3 years later fully developed... if that's the end result, well, it looks like the usual mask people I've seen on several Korean and Thai shows when people are cooking except this one is larger and covers the whole mouth. That silliness aside, Ai goes to Germany for 3 years and in the mean time, Songkram becomes a pilot and they meet again on the plane back to Thailand and later they have a baby while we also know the younger side couple graduates as all celebrate the event wearing the silly masks but nothing more is said about the other couples. The End.

On a side note, the translation was atrocious for most of the episodes with English subtitles not being at the same level that we've seen other series. I was able to find a fan-subbed version with Spanish subtitles that were quite better than the ones provided by the producer, so thankfully I was able to dodge some subtitle confusion like I've seen others complain about.
That being said, this a story that is not that hard to follow as is dull and predictable with cute leads but nothing that will you back to watch it again because it's that good. So, watch it once and then send it to the BL archives.

Lire davantage

Cliche but in terms of portrayal it lacks nothing at all

Okay so here's my take on this one.

First of all, I came across this series on YouTube shorts , that scenario where they were eating in the cafeteria , sitting across and facing each other, Songkram pretending to stretch out but sneakily made a heart sign using his fingers. The other party got flustered and also pretended to stretch out but made a heart sign using his hands instead over his head. Ahhhh I really love that scene. It was pure cuteness. Also their facial expressions was on point that I couldn't help but giggle in silence (ps I was watching it around 12 in the morning, glad I did)


I've been a BL fan since TeeFuse era (My Tee the series) I've also watch Love of Siam by Mario Maurer before the first mentioned series. Just trying to say , I've seen a lot of BLs in the industry be it Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and so on. I also read BL novels, read quite a few as well.

Back to them, my first impression of Earth was that his fierceness and the EYEBROWS lol. He really is a resemblance of Eun Woo but much more of a Dylan Wang aura from the remastered Meteor Garden. I've seen a lot of good-looking Thai BL actors but he's more of an exotic one for me. I just can't wrapped myself about the fact that this gorgeous guy plays so well in this series. I really wanted to say more lol . Let's go with Bank, honestly when I was watching the series I really thought he reminded me of Bai Lou Yin for some reasons, attitude and sarcastic side also his haircut is the same as Bai Lou Yin. Needless to say Bank is much younger and cuter. (ps I found out that he's a year younger than me and I was a bit shocked for the reason that is it okay to be head over heels to someone younger than you, also our bdays is just 3 days apart lol we're both Aries, I think it's a cute trivial fact for me)


Second thing, their chemistry is very on point I can't stop but gets an ear to ear smile esp when I saw them being so lovey-dovey with each other on EP 8. Their acting is so natural as well, they really did a bunch of workshops just to get there and blend in with their characters. Generally, don't we presume chemistry first before watching a romance story????

Yes concept of the story is very cliche BUT it was more than that. Also I love the fact that unlike many BLs out there there's no cringey-ness at all. One of the factors why I really like this series.

Let's talk about the side couples. Oh boy, they did them very preciously. I find the freshmans very cute but hey aggressive and full of vitality as h*ll. Pipe and Meen, I still didn't understand much about them I mean it was more of being rushed ,some things weren't clarified for me somehow they just went impulsively and boom do the did , tho what I like about their scene is that they did the nipple biting, Pipe did, I was hoping Songkram was going to do it to Ai as well. Actually I felt like it was rushed in a way that a lot of things aren't actually tackled properly. For instance, Pipe did said he likes Ai and that was confirmed via him trying to give Ai some ointment but that was it like what??? nothing else happened at that point, hmm about their study session, I couldn't feel anything special tho it was very normal. Its like he just went there just to bicker with Songkram. Also Songkram mentioned he was flirting and trying to court Ai but as far as I remember it wasn't that way to me. Honestly the first episode was really a mess first time watching it. Glad I did rewatch it also watched their EP 1 reaction fortunately it has English subtitles but very little.


I never really expected the series to have nsfw scenes at all. I mean the cast was full of visuals and I thought it would be just lovey-dovey scenes. Oh boy. The final EP was *chef's kiss* Ai and Songkram's scene was really something. I'm out of words. The last part where they kissed each other's forehead and said I love you was something I thought off right after them doing the deed and that was really beautiful. That scene where they cried together at the hospital, I cried a little on that, for the reason that I felt pity on Songkram for on the spot acting tough and just saying he would wait for him. Long distance isn't something anyone could handle esp as we know how Songkram is deeply in love with Ai.

I hope my review helps somehow. Also don't give up on this one. Its a gem. I mean the flaws that I have said made it a gem. It was worth it to be honest. I stopped watching BLs right after finishing Bad Buddy and for the first time this year I'm glad my first one is them, EarthBank.

Also, it's a disappointment not having English subs on most of their interviews and playzone series on YouTube. As a foreign fan. I felt like I lost a part of me not knowing what these guys are saying. Is it just me? I haven't seen them being on the spotlight, the spazzers and all the translators? Where are you guys? If I do have the money to sponsor the translation for every international fan I might have done it so. Dang being poor sucks.

ps. I just made an insta account just to follow both of them, I got post series depression after watching the series so it helps a lot knowing that they're still together sometimes and I found some very cute interactions of both on YouTube doing dares on ig live and tiktok as well.

Lire davantage

Stayed for the main couple

First of all, here's a recommendation: make sure to find good subtitles for this series. When I tried to watch the first episode with English subtitles, they were so bad that I seriously considered dropping the show altogether. I was lucky enough to find good subtitles in my native language, but if I hadn't, I don't think I would have watched anything past the second episode. Also, the first two episodes are very slow and the pace only picks up from the third episode, so that wouldn't have helped either.

The plot of the story is not very convincing. There are good tropes that could have made the story interesting, but all of them felt very superficial and inconsistent: some elements were introduced and then forgotten, some others stayed for the entire story but never felt as crucial as they were probably meant to be (like the rivalry between Dorm 2 and Dorm 3, which kept being brought up and then suddenly forgotten at every turn). I was under the impression that the writers came up with different ideas, then were indecisive about which one they could pick, and finally chose to include all of them. I felt like I was being swept left and right by the plot and its constant changes in direction, so after a while I just stopped questioning anything that was happening in the story, and focused on the romance.
The story of each couple isn't much less confusing than the overarching plot, but the chemistry of the main pair made up for it. Ai and Songkhram have to be one of the most adorable on-screen couples I've seen and all their moments together had me glued to the screen; the development of their relationship was also pretty good despite everything. The secondary couples didn't get the same care, unfortunately: I feel like Pipe and Meen could have shown much more, but the pacing was off and their story ended up feeling unsatisfying to me. As for Pluster and Nano, they didn't really have any sort of subplot of their own to begin with - either that or it was just so insignificant that it didn't even catch my eye.

Overall, I'm sure I will remember this series just because of Ai and Songkhram and not much else. I only recommend watching as long as you don't have high expectations for the story.

Lire davantage

I agree with the "confusing start"

To be Honest, I really didn't like the start of this series. I'm not sure whether I wanted to proceed after episode 1 and I even skipped Ep 2 (FR XD). I watched Ep3 onward and it's good. I wasn't expecting that I'd love it. I think I'm just really picky with how a story starts.

It's concept is sort of similar to Bad Buddy. Keeping their Relationship a secret as well as how they're both from opposing sides.

I'm gonna be listing what I like in this series base on my interests(lol). Despite me not liking episode 1, I like the concept of repeated history (the part where their seniors picked them and when they became seniors and had to pick their Juniors ).
I like how the main character is seriously thinking about his future (whether he's making the right choice) and not simply courting his BF to be. I'm into relationships(not necessarily romantic) with a specific past be it good or bad, so the second couple's interactions fits my interest. I also love the third couple's first venture into BXB relationship, how they're clueless how to do it with each other as they're both their firsts.

Lire davantage

I might say that I got tricked from a short video on instagram. I excited to try this series even though I knew from the beginning that this show would be such a waste. Yet, I could finish it. lol

One think that I love about this show is that chemistry between Ai and Songkhram. I profoundly in love with their relationship. But their story was awful. I don't understand how the fight between 2 dorms work, but they didn't give us any detail about the real "competition". If they tried to make such a romeo-juliet story but based on dormitory, It didn't work.

Another thing that I really hate is the behind story about Songkhram's feeling towards Ai. They told us that He's been in love with him since his first year, but I didn't see any effort from him. They even skipped those 2 years without telling us anything whatsoever.

I wish Bank and Earth had another chance in another series. They honestly deserved a great show!

Lire davantage

Cute Rival/Friend Dynamic and Light-hearted Series

I originally tried to watch this last year but the subs were very bad. It has gotten a lot better. Not great, but understandable for the most part. Maybe 10-15% where the sentence structure is weird/backwards or the grammar is off. I'm glad I revisited this because this was a very fun, cute, and light series. Great leads, great friends. Nothing overly dramatic and no big misunderstandings. There were times where I felt like things were cut, but overall, I enjoyed it.

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● SHORT REVIEW
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LIKES:
-- I really liked the rival/friends dynamic. Nothing too serious. Cute interactions, and great chemistry. Initial kisses did feel awkward, but hey, there was passion. And the nc scene, the kissing was a lot better. Maybe the initial awkward kisses was intentional? Idk. Still loved their chemistry.
--I enjoyed the friend group (Ohm not included). Despite the rivalries going on, it seemed mostly just for fun and no one was taking it seriously. They still supported and helped each other and remained civil.


DISLIKES:
-- Huge time jump so we don't really get to see the process of Songkram or Ai falling in love. They both are already crushing on each other after the time jump. Would have been fine if they included more flashbacks.
-- They could've done a better job at showing Ai's frustration with Songkhram in episode 7. It did feel abrupt. Maybe he felt overwhelmed in the moment and that's where that annoyance came from? But they didn't build it up well enough. Or maybe something got cut or lost in translation. It doesn't really matter too much though because the conflict was quickly resolved


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● IN-DEPT REVIEW
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[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

The story was pretty simple and straightforward. Very light and cute. There was no huge drama or anything overly dramatic going on, which I liked. Even the rivalry between the dorm between wasn't all that serious. They still hung out with one another. Just a lot of playful banter and bickering, mostly between the two dorm heads. Otherwise, it was just all fun. It the rivalry concept reminds me a little of Bad Buddy, but this series is not as dramatic and deep. It keeps everything pretty light-hearted. I think the most dramatic thing was Ohm's reaction to Ai when Ohm was left out of the Sandbox project. He seemed very ungrateful to the two people who helped him when he was in trouble. Ohm got his feelings hurt once and forgot all about the kindness Ai has showed up. Other than Ohm though, all the other friends were great. Even when everyone was split between rival dorms, they supported and helped each other, like with tutoring. Even when the two boys were competing to win Ai's affection, they still remained friends, which I loved. Also, it was funny and cute. I really enjoyed all the pairings and their dynamics. Ai's mom and Songkram's dad were also both great, supportive parents, which is always nice to see.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

Going in, I wasn't familiar with the cast, but I very much enjoyed their acting as I loved their interactions and chemistry. Wanted to punch Ohm for his behavior, which is a good thing. Going forward, I hope to see more of all of them. Not really much to say here other than they all did a good job.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

Ok, so while I was watching the series, I don't think there was really anything that stood out to me. Not really bad, but also not memorable. The only song I looked up was the one from Bank, which was ok. I don't think it's something I'll add to my playlist though.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

This was a relatively short, fun, and light-hearted series, so it's something I could easily rewatch again. And I probably will. I didn't expect to like it so much, but I do. It was fun to watch.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

Again, there really wasn't anything deep or dramatic going in this series. Just two guys who secretly crushed on each other and are part of rival dorms. Their interactions was very fun and cute to watch. The friend group was great, minus Ohm, but Ohm was mostly just Ai's friend anyway. Although it's not really anything unique or special, it doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. There really isn't much to say about it other than it's cute and fluffy and light. I loved it.


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● NOTE
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I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Lire davantage

Desperately needed more time on the editing floor..

This one is hard to rate because there were things I loved about it and there were things I really didn't like. Most of this review may just end up being my thought process just trying to work it all out in my head so I apologize in advance if it's just as scattered as this series was.

If we go with the bad first, as the headline suggests, this series really could have used some better editing. There were many things that didn't make sense at the time or seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving me wondering if I missed a scene or a full episode entirely. (I guess I should also mention that there wasn't a great option for English subs... I tried multiple sources and the subs on all of them were rough. But you can still get the gist if you don't read word for word or know your thesaurus.) Sometimes something will happen in an early episode and then about 4 or 5 episodes later, they will throw in a flashback kind of thing that explains it... but at that point, it's almost forgotten about since so much has happened in between. And then there's the other side of the spectrum where suddenly Ai is telling Songkhram to go away and leave him alone out of the blue when just before that everything was honky dory... then we find out he was having an inner battle of feelings but there was no show of that.. so it made him look like he was either being unreasonable or someone was forcing him to break things off with Songkhram otherwise they'd do something bad. So it really didn't make sense at all.

I was glad for the reviews I read that said the beginning was rough but that it gets better because it was very true and, in the end, I really ended up enjoying the series.

While the acting wasn't the best, it's clear the actors worked on their on-screen chemistry because pretty much all of the couples (3 main ones) had good scenes together. As individual relationships, there was progression and storyline (mainly for the couples of Songkhram/Ai and Bright/Meen... unfortunately I feel like the 3rd couple's story suffered from the aforementioned editing issue.) There was a decent amount of spice too which I somehow didn't expect with the way the series started out. Most of it didn't happen until the latter half of the series but I thought it was well done. Especially Songkhram and Ai's first time.. it was practically perfect in the buildup from the way their eyes just locked from across the room, being drawn together and then they started slow kissing, making out, allowing the tension to grow and finally coming together to complete the cycle. SO many series forget about foreplay and build-up which is, in my opinion, more important than the act of sex itself.

I liked the different take on the university rivals trope.. even though they were all engineers, they were divided by other aspects completely unrelated to school, just so they could start out their university life surrounded by people who had similar interests. It was like they took the hierarchy of the SOTUS program but made it into something meant to benefit the freshmen. There were no bully subplots though there was plenty of good-natured hazing amongst the core group of friends. That scene at the amusement park where the friends were "bumping into" either Ai or Songkhram was hilarious and I loved it. It was another different take on "outing the secret couple" trope that wasn't obnoxious or overly invading.

I guess that's where my biggest confusion comes from.. like.. there were so many good ideas thrown into this series to make it different enough and they had actors that worked well against each other.. but it just got lost when trying to follow some of the plot. They needed to work on the transitional parts that explained how they got from point A to point B. Even the flashbacks they threw in here and there seemed like an afterthought.

Either way, I would recommend this series as one that doesn't need too much brain power (except for further translating the subs). It was a fun, easy watch and I'll definitely watch it again. I'll give it some time to get some better subs, hopefully. I'll keep my fingers crossed..

Lire davantage

Simple but well made

It had a strong and beautiful start, went straight into the story and didn't waste time.
The idea of red and blue color that was with them until the end of the series was very special and beautiful, it was interesting that this was applied even in the smallest details.


Songkram's character was interesting, even though I thought he would have a proud and arrogant personality, but he was completely the opposite, he seems very mature and patient in a very good shape..
Ai had a logical personality, but sometimes he got very angry and overreacted because of dorm's problems
and it was really made me sad fir Singkram.


The most beautiful parts were right after they confessed to eachother and the kiss in the rooftops
I didn't think that Ai character could be so romantic and in love, but they show the beginning and development of a relationship very well despite the obstacles of their university.


In the end, it can be said that the series was fun and beautiful, it had good actors, and the chemistry between them was very good, and the scenario went well and everything ended cleanly and transparently.
I definitely miss them

Lire davantage

A Thai BL trope galore in this simple storyline

This series is a classic enemies-to-lovers storly, centering around engineering students, and while it doesn't break new ground, it effectively employs tried-and-true tropes to craft an entertaining series.

The narrative follows Ai and Songkhram, dormitory heads at an engineering university, who constantly clash whenever their paths cross. Unbeknownst to them, hidden beneath their bickering lies a growing affection for each other. When Songkhram discovers Ai's feelings, he actively pursues a romantic relationship. Intertwined with this budding romance is the presence of a resentful former dormitory head and another student determined to see Ai and Songkhram fail. Additionally, secondary plotlines explore the relationships between Meen and Bright, as well as Nano and Pluster.

The series leans into the familiar tropes often found in Thai BL series, especially those set in a college backdrop. It incorporates elements like rivals secretly harboring feelings, one MC falling ill and being cared for by the other, and the cliché of maintaining a secret relationship while making it blatantly obvious. While the series delivers on these plot points, it doesn't delve deep into character backgrounds or their journey toward falling in love. It tends to jump from one plot development to another. A more comprehensive exploration of Bright and Meen's past relationship, as well as the cause of their rift, would have enriched the narrative. Similarly, the sudden emergence of Pluster and Nano's relationship lacks depth.

One of the series' strengths and simultaneously a drawback is its adherence to these familiar tropes. While it might seem typical, it also ensures that viewers won't feel bored or encounter jarring narrative shifts. The series successfully balances its reliance on conventions with its entertainment value. The two main actors deliver commendable performances, breathing life into their characters and crafting a genuinely heartwarming love story. It's evident that these actors have the potential to shine even brighter in more complex storylines.

In conclusion, the series may not revolutionize the BL genre, but it's far from disappointing. With only 10 episodes, it's a manageable time investment. The skilled performances of the actors and the decent background score contribute to its charm. While you'll need to overlook some subpar subtitles, the series is a worthwhile watch, especially if you enjoy the classic college romance formula.

Lire davantage