Big Dragon (2022)

The Best Harry/Draco Thai AU Fanfic You Will Ever Watch**

Enemies to Friends to Lovers:
Hollywood romcom meets lighthearted blackmail with a side of drama, in a secret relationship between two college playboys. #nsfw (though the fluff outnumbers the nsfw)

Yai=Draco Malfoy
Mangkorn=Harry Potter

I’m not kidding. If you read Drarry fanfic, this series is for you!
The dynamic is there and ripe. The lead, Yai is so much Malfoy it’s not even funny: spoiled, entitled and scheming idiot who’s obsessed with “hating” a guy. Mangkorn is a devious Harry, teasing Yai every chance he gets, but also genuinely intrigued by him.

Yai even has two idiot lackeys exactly like Malfoy. Once I made the parallel I couldn’t unsee it, and it made the series all the more enjoyable. Drarry was one of my first BL ships ever. It seriously feels like a fanon Harry/Draco story.

(Did tumblr write this? Because sometimes it flows so perfectly, almost too good to be true.)

This series does the best style of situational comedy. The timing is spot on and there’s no over the top Thai comedy for comedy’s sake. Every comedic moment either adds to characterization or advances the plot. This is truly a comedy of errors and miscommunication that unfolds in the best way possible to create suspense.

The occasional slightly absurd element doesn’t feel out of place because they’re not trying to pass it off completely seriously. But just because it’s comedic doesn’t mean it’s without serious moments. The characters react realistically in emotional situations, and you actually feel the tension between characters. The emotional scenes are quite honest and truly hit you in the feels.

The love scenes are done artistically with cinematography, editing and music. I actually suspect the actors might not have the best physical chemistry, but it’s impossible to know for sure because the production elements completely carried the scene.

If this series was an HP fanfic on AO3, I’m sure it would have thousands of kudos. Yet here a diamond in the rough is sitting in the average 7 rating zone on MDL.

Anyone who likes Enemies—>Friends—>Lovers will enjoy this series.

**Though upon finishing it, the end is kind of light slice of life, overdramatic. The series starts making you think it's hardcore like Kinnporsche, but it's not at all after the first conflict.

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Clickbait in the form of a drama series (what a mess!)

Like someone else mentioned in their review, I also found myself interested in the series based on the trailer(s) which gave me sort of KinnPorsche vibes. The first episode kind of delivered on that, but then the series went all over the place. I personally did not at all care for the acting of nor chemistry between the two main leads. Yai as a character was just way too whiny and dramatic for me and even when he attempted to affirm his feelings for Mangkorn, it didn't really feel natural. Actually, none of the so-called development between them felt natural. It felt mostly one-sided where Mangkorn was the one chasing after Yai, the latter who just kept whining about Mangkorn and how he wanted this or that but then never went past words to action.

It kind of felt like they had way bigger plans for the series (which is apparently based on a book which I can only hope is better at least plot-wise) but it all fell flat. Episode 7 was plain painful to watch, because it was essentially just a video log of Yai & Mangkorn's honeymoon phase, where the scenes dragged on for too long and nothing really happened besides them having sex in various places. The plot was all over the place and never really developed like one would've hoped. All in all, a very disappointing watch.

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Good..But it could have been way better!

Let's start with these that stands out.

Cinematography was really great,so the Direction.Everything was very pleasant to the eye.They did a really nice job here.
Music was excellent all the way,every scene had its appropriate music theme.And lets be honest,"Dancing with the devil" is a Killer!Hands off!

Now let's talk about all those things weren't that great and practically prevented me from giving a higher score.

This had all the potentials to be a Super Hit,but unfortunately failed.
No is not the best story out there,nothing is remarkable about it.Nothing new,steps on the old good premises of any Bl.
Enemies to Lovers the most common trope,we just love to hate.Yes to me is always an intriguing trope and i do not mind at all when writers use it so much.
By default is more spicy and gives more room for development,if it is used right.
Here was just too plain,too predictable and occasionally boring.
They decided to start this story the most toxic way they could.

Allow me to open a parenthesis here:
Let me clear, i dont mind toxic relationships,iam not shocked,and definitely iam not prude to curse this kind of stories.Iam old enough with real life experiences and iam not hiding behind my finger for the sake of being nice and acceptable.I don't care.Toxicity exists in Real Life,too.I close the parenthesis here.

So back to the story as i said had great potentials if they had spend more time and effort to develop the 2 main characters in more depth.Always is a plus to any story when we can get deeper to each character.Also it could be more episodes if they had done this.

I would prefer the story was more mature,as the outline could give space for this.Instead, almost every reaction to any action was just childish.Considering the main leads are not school boys( Uni students who also runs family bussiness are adults,right?)they should had dealt with all the occurring problems with more responsibility.
Actually the story was a bit of everything,a mix and match.Wanted to be spicy and..kinky(!!!)but ended up soft and awkward.Lol!There is not a clear path,like in the midway the script was "censored"somehow and the writer had to change the main concept.Or he was confused and not so sure if this was a soft or a hardcore story!At least this was my notion all the way from first to the last episode.

And now i will talk about the main problems this series has.
The Acting is one of them.
If iam not mistaken the main leads are both rookies and Big Dragon was their first project.
It is always great to give opportunities to new actors and having the main roles i guess is big enough but also can be too stressful.But this is the only way they could gain experience,too.
So iam not blaming those 2 kids as they did their best.But yet i suppose they both have a big road ahead,to improve their acting skills and iam wishing them the best.
Stiff,awkward,unnatural,embarrassing,are the words i can use to describe the acting here.
(and if you think is me being a bitch here,i assure you iam not,as i was highly impressed by Bible's acting in KinnPorsche and i praised him a lot even if he was a rookie too)

The second issue was chemistry among the Mls.Or better say the lack of it.Zero,none,nothing.They didnt convince me not for a second that they were inlove,no passion even in the sex scenes.Clearly both were too embarrassed not only to kiss each other but to just touch each other's hand!Yeah for a BL that was a bummer.

So my final words about Big Dragon.
It could be so much more.It could be FIRE and one of the most hot Bls of 2022.
A more bold script,a little more depth in characters and maybe different actors as main leads could have give the right push to be a Hit.
Still it was enjoyable and got a 7,5 from me,passing the average and be in the good "league"

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QUÍMICA IMPECÁVEL

Vamos começar pelo aspecto mais importante dessa série que é a química.
QUE QUÍMICA INCRÍVEL.
Aquela cena de sexo no começo é simplesmente perfeita e merece ser aplaudida de pé.
Os joguinhos de gato e rato funcionam muito bem no começo e a sex tape deixa as coisas mais interessantes, também gosto de como eles vão se conectando a medida que o tempo passa.
No meio da história o aspecto BDSM foi perdido por algum motivo mas eu gostaria de ter visto mais, e eu esperava mais cenas sexuais por conta da intensidade do casal mas infelizmente não tivemos, ao invés disso tivemos flashbacks da primeira vez deles (o que já perde pontos comigo).
Minhas reclamações são que do nada começou a acontecer muita coisa ao mesmo tempo, a personalidade do Yai por si só já é bem chatinha e do nada tínhamos um casamento arranjado, um triângulo amoroso (odeio com todas as minhas forças) e um relacionamento a distância (também odeio com todas as minhas forças). No meio de tanta coisa ao mesmo tempo a história se perdeu, mas no geral é uma boa série.

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Toxic beginning, fairly inoffensive and sweet series as a whole

Based on the plot description and first couple episodes, really thought this was going to be a low budget pulp with a toxic relationship. Surprisingly though, it turned into more of a romcom lol

The way the characters get together is super brutal and there is literally no hero. Attempted drugging/sexual assault turns into reverse sex tape blackmail? Wow, did MAME write this? Jk lol. This is somewhat resolved by the fact that it turns out the sex tape was deleted long ago on Mangkorn’s part and partly by Yai’s character development. They do have Yai admit that he was a bad person, so at least they aren’t excusing his actions. But seriously, wtf. Crazier is knowing that the source material has a literal mpreg scare, so it could have gotten even messier that that lol.

Anyway, if you get passed the beginning they actually have a very sweet romance with decent chemistry. The acting was also surprisingly pretty good. I didn’t feel any awkwardness from the leads and they were able to match the mood of more emotional aspects of the script. I think with more polish the actors are probably going to be pretty solid.

The remaining plot lines are pretty standard BL, nothing outstanding.
I’ll be honest though, I was more entertained by the show when it was kind of trashy at the beginning. Let’s face it, I’m a slut for drama.

Anyway, if you don’t have anything else to watch and aren’t scared off by the first episode it isn’t a bad watch. Probably wouldn’t rewatch though

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Not what I thought it was going to be...

I can't lie I was initially disappointed with this show but ended up enjoying it.
From the poster/trailer etc it seemed like it would be a mafia show like KinnPorsche - clearly that show's success influenced the advertising of this one. But to be honest, it's just another university romance drama with a bit more sex and toxicity.
The way their relationship started was iffy - both intoxicated to differing levels, it was filmed and then used to blackmail? Bit concerning (but I guess things like this do happen in real life - it is good to see some different stories instead of all sunshine and rainbows). I love an enemies to lovers but this happened at a confusing pace. One minute they despise each other but are clearly physically attracted, then bam they love each other?
However, Mos and Bank are both incredible actors and despite the iffy storyline, they both did do a fab job so I have to give them credit for that. The production was also very good, a lot of the scenes are lovely to look at. No matter how much I can criticise the show, I was more or less hooked to the end. Plus the two bodyguards/hinted side couple were awesome and a good dose of humour, I'm obsessed with them.

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Could've been so much better

I went into watching this show with high expectations because of all the good reviews only to find out it was pretty mid. This show had a lot of wasted potential. If some of the scenes were more well-developed the show would have been much better. Like, I feel the way Yai and Mangkorns relationship developed was super rushed and went from them hating each other one second to wanting to be friends the next. Also, why did they even hate each other? Only to find out Mangkorn had a crush on Yai the whole time. Most of their fights were so pointless as well like when will BLs start having proper communication istg. And why was the whole date rape thing not really acknowledged throughout the whole show??? The only thing I can say I liked about the show was the cinematography but other than that it felt like a waste of my time. And the acting? Mid. Dialogues? Mid.

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Can love be born from hate?

The term Enemies-to-Lovers describes a narrative arc in which protagonists begin as sworn enemies or adversaries, only to gradually discover a deeper connection that transcends the initial animosity.
A common pretext in romantic movies and series is the enmity between the protagonists to end up together in an enviable love story.
Although it is a cliché, some dramatized have become classics of film and television for showing that there is only one step from hate to love.
'Big Dragon' is one of those stories in which the protagonists appear to be polar opposites and end up attracted by a chemistry produced throughout the series.
This 2022 LGBTIQ+ themed Thai romantic comedy-drama is directed by Puwadon Naosopa in his debut as a drama director and writer after directing the special 'Secret Theory of Kissing' two years earlier, who co-wrote the script with Boy Mitpracha Outtaros. Both acknowledge that the decision to explore homosexual romance comes in response to what fans wanted. They wanted to "redress the balance" and write a typical romantic comedy, but with young gay people.
The creators bring to life a romantic story, in which everything happens in a more realistic way. It is a story about the search for human connections, about discovery, about acceptance, about the difficulty of discovering one's identity and finding a place in the world, and someone to share it all with. In short, it is about young people who want to be something more and who embark on a clear transformative journey.
However, what began as a natural dislike between the two gradually turns into romance, which is complicated due to Mangkorn's father's wishes for his son to marry his childhood friend's daughter and the pressure Yai has a family relationship with a dead mother and an absent father and now in a new relationship that Yai opposes for the wrong reasons.
What makes romantic comedies so irresistible? Is it the certainty that its structure, already quite well known, gives to the viewer? Or is it the joy we get from seeing two people we know are made for each other fall in love on screen? For whatever reason, through romcoms we have been shown many of the dynamics of falling in love and romance, which is why it is appreciated that in more recent years their stories are about more diverse groups than the typical heterosexual white couple.
'Big Dragon' is an example of this: a beautiful romance between two young adults separated by their social contexts.
It is beautiful how they live, separately and in different ways, the process of accepting homosexuality, denying that they like a person of the same sex, stating that what happened between them was motivated by alcohol and drugs, asking friends for guidance, looking for women as a way to confirm heterosexuality, or even getting into fist fights.
Based on the best-selling Thai PG-18 novel of the same name by Aiden N Vivienne, the series stars Mos Panuwat Sopradit and Bank Mondop Heamtan, as Mangkorn, and Yai, respectively.
Mangkorn is a fifth-year architecture student, attractive and confident. Yai is a rich, self-centered and spoiled student at the same university, but majoring in Business Administration. Both have the power to cast a spell on the public with just a look.
Yai believes that Mangkorn is his romantic rival, imagining that he is also in love with the girl he likes. So he seeks to make him look ridiculous. One night, at his father's newly inherited pub, Yai and Mangkorn drink together. His nefarious plans fail due to the mistake of his bodyguards, whom he had ordered to mix something in Mangkorn's drink. This is how he and Mangkorn end up spending a night of wild sex together.
When he wakes up, he discovers that Mangkorn has taken the images of the hot sexual encounter between the two. Realizing that he has been outwitted and now his prestige is in the hands of Mangkorn, who could do the same thing he planned to publish the video to take revenge, Yai vents his anger in the pub.
He hopes to forget what happened between them. So, he requests the services of an architecture company to carry out renovations to the premises with the intention of erasing the memories of the sinful night, but he soon discovers that one of the members of the team of hired designers is the person he wants to forget.
The new frictions that arise from having to see each other frequently lead them to start a romance and discover their sexuality together. What they did not expect is that feelings stronger than hatred would arise between them. The classic romantic trope of "enemies to lovers" becomes relevant when two presumably heterosexual young people are involved.
Just like the dragon and the tiger, the two couldn't be more at odds with each other. But their destinies become inseparably intertwined, leaving resentments behind and managing to turn their hostility into love.
The tumultuous relationship will cause both boys to find love for the first time in their lives, in addition to growing as human beings.
'Big Dragon' sounds like fan fiction and looks like it too. However, as in any worthwhile romance, the director gets us to support the transition from cheeky couple of rivals to boyfriends, before becoming bed partners. Puwadon Naosopa is supported, and convincingly so, by the cinematographer, who portrays the protagonists with such adoration, that you almost expect them, between kisses and sensual moans in the frequent sexual encounters, to turn towards the camera and promote a bottle of perfume.
Queer romantic narratives have found a solid place in BL series and this drama is positioned as a testament to this advancement.
There is a bit of a twist in everything, since the situation is somewhat complicated for the two protagonists, but in the end it is one of those stories that leave you with a good taste in your mouth, and lifts your spirits, in addition to the strong chemistry of the two boys and the solid performances of a debutant Mos and Bank in his first leading role, for the brilliant visual effects, its majestic soundtrack and the greatness of the cinematographic skill.
It is truly an irresistible couple between Thai actor Mos Panuwat Sopradit and Thai-American singer ISBANKY, who also lends his voice to sing "Dancing with the Devil", the main theme of the series, and "Just Smile".
In the technical section, the weight falls almost entirely on the development of the relationship and charisma of its stars, who are surrounded by a luxurious and aspirational dreamlike environment.
The series is also packed with enough romantic tropes to bring together that fuzzy, familiar feeling of any formulaic on-screen love story. There are 'enemies to lovers', 'opposites attract', 'forbidden romance', 'he fell in love first, but he fell in love harder' and in the endings a 'pen pals/lovers' interlude.
The main strength of 'Big Dragon' is Mondop Heamtan, whose charming performance is helped by the fact that he has most of the best lines and manages to border on being arrogant without becoming conceited.
The sincere but impetuous Mangkorn is a more difficult role, but Mos Panuwat Sopradit manages to give the role enough gravitas to achieve dialogue like "I want to stay here with you. And one more thing: I've wanted to fix things with my family. No I can run away from the problem forever."
The story embraces and demonstrates that the growth of queer young adult fiction reflects a generational shift toward a more open and inclusive attitude toward gender diversity and sexual orientation.
Historically in romance, queer characters have been unhappy, or even killed off. However, in 'Big Dragon', homosexuality leads to happiness.
Mangkorn and Yai not only have the possibility of beginning a journey that will lead them to experience a true individual transformation by falling in love: they give voice to the desires of queer and diverse young people who want to see a "happily ever after" represented on screen that resembles them.
Puwadon Naosopa understands that the key to success for any romantic comedy-drama is the chemistry between its protagonists, something that Mondop Heamtan ISBANKY and Panuwat Sopradit have plenty of. Although they are both very attractive, this is not enough when it comes to presenting a successful on-screen romance: we have had countless examples of unconvincing gorgeous couples in film and television. However, that is not the case here, since both prove to be good romantic interests and this work has been the first in which they have been able to exploit their gifts as romantic protagonists, and which have subsequently been able to give them new dimensions in other dramas, such as ' SunsetxVibes' and 'Y Journey: Stay Like a Local'
Despite social pressures, jealousy, the presence of a new love interest who will try to come between the two, the need to separate for student reasons, the relationship between the two develops organically and gradually: the romance is credible and you melts the heart.
The social context also adds a credible burden of difficulties while helping to develop their characters beyond the romantic relationship. Although the conventions of the romantic comedy are followed to the letter (something very typical of the genre), its characters and situations move away from clichés. There is also an honest approach to homosexual desire, the interactions in sex between two men and the conflicts of expressing their love in an environment guided by appearances and heteronormativity.
Thanks to the charisma, tenderness and attractiveness of its protagonists, its social context and irresistible romantic plot, 'Big Dragon is a charming love series made for fans of this type of content. It doesn't break much of the mold in terms of its structure, but its characters and situations are unique enough to avoid falling into stereotypes. As far as modern romantic comedy-drama goes, it has my vote.

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It's not that bad but it could've been way better. The first episode starts off with the main character committing a crime recording himself and his rival having an affair. And that's weird per se. But then the story gets engaging and somehow (literally: how did it happen?) the two of them are in a relationship, without defining the nature of it.
I'm not bother about this lack of labels, I find that realistic to an extent. What bothers me is how the development feels rushed, without any breaking-points. It's a pity we couldn't see how they get close to each other, how they get to realize each other's feelings. Even if trivial, the storyline could've been showed much more better and even more meaningfully since the show touches so many interesting topics. The actors would be amazing showing a deeper meaning, or just in a well-done slow burn enemies-to-lovers serie.

In fact, the cast is so good. So good. I loved how Bank portraits Yai's sadness, also Mos' loving eyes in the romantic scenes are out of this world. I'll look forward for them to act in another drama together.

Thumbs up to the sound team too: the ost is incredible.

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Couldn't watch past episode 3

Everything was a hot mess. Nothing made analytical sense. The lead characters are offputting and pretentious. I for one cannot stand the main character, Yai, who exercises poor judgment after poor judgment and isn't charming or likable enough to get a pass. The way he handled seeing another guy being slightly interested in the same woman as him is criminal. This guy recorded a rape tape on a camcorder but thought it could ONLY be found on someone else's phone is not only dumb but not how that works. Yet, for some multitude of reasons he is obsessed with getting his hands on the other main character, Mangkorn's phone, and then proceeded to explain every detail of what we saw him do to this guy's phone to him. Do we care? No. Does Mangkorn love his phone that much that he'll care how you destroyed it? No. And for some reason, Mangkorn found Yai's stupidity so hot that he pulled the latter into the next room to ask for consensual sex. Except he didn't care for an answer and demanded that Yai do as he said anyway. Completely and utterly pointless. I ended the show there.

I don't mind dark and flawed protagonists, but I can't stand dark, flawed, and dumb protagonists.

I understand that when a parent introduces his/her new significant other to you it can be uncomfortable but not when said parent has spoiled you rotten and is giving you their most beloved bar to renovate and run. Not to mention this was a working parent who was only home at least 5 times a year. Yai throwing a tantrum over "family" lunch after his dad flew into town because there may be a potential stepmother was so uncalled for. I'd understand his mixed emotions if he was 12 or 14 but the guy is grown enough for BDSM. Let your hardworking dad be happy, my guy.

The opening and ending song is the only thing I liked about the show

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