Not worth it because of one character...

To be fair, I've watched Hello Monster a long time ago and I don't have any memories of the series at all. I remember some scenes (especially the fantastic acting of Do Kyungsoo) but I don't quite remember the rest of the series so I couldn't really compare with this one (except the beginning of the plot). And maybe because it was a long time ago but I remember liking the Korean series.

This Thai version... not so much.

The actors are good. The plot is well written. But there is one big problem for me... the female lead.
She was insufferable from the start and, from episode 4 or 5, I couldn't see her on the screen anymore and I had to skip all of her scenes (especially the ones with the male lead). I re-read my comment on the Hello Monster series and I was already saying at that time that I didn't quite like the romance. But I don't remember hating it that much! That Thai version seemed to have worsened the female character. I mean... she is a cop but she's scared on a crime scene... She also is and admits to be a criminal herself because she's a stalker but the male lead doesn't seem to be put off by this news... She says to Pathomkarn that she hated Tanwa at first which is a total lie. She never hated him and, even though, she doubted his innocence in the first few episodes, she never disliked him, on the contrary. She also prefers that her attacker run free just for her to stay in Tanwa's home. Well... I can go on and on with her...

Also, she is the reason I hate the ending. Because, of course, we can't have an ending with the two brothers being happy together...

So, I may be unfair to the series because of one character but, sometimes, one character can spoil an entire series...

Lire davantage

Nonsense romance (with a bit of illegal romance mixed in it)

So... As most people already said it: it started real good but it went down the drain real quick!

First, I think that the fact that Kang's behaviour makes a complete u-turn without really good reasons was one of the reasons the series started to get bad from episode 3. But the thing that really upset me was when Kang was suddenly in love with his childhood friend, Pimfah. There were no previous signs of him liking her and it was so sudden that it felt so out of place. Contrary to some people, I wasn't really surprised that Pimfah was interested in Sailom because she's kind of shown signs a bit before (even though, those signs can easily be understood as just her being nice), but Kang's feelings for Pimfah were out of nowhere. Especially when he already showed signs of jealousy towards Sailom (but I was apparently wrong...). Then, Sailom confesses he likes Kang and Kang suddenly likes him? That was so freaking weird (also, I don't really like the fact that Sailom liked him before and just because he gave him an umbrella... I know he's young but still).

Second, I don't have anything against Chimon, I thought he played his part good in all the dramas I've watched with him but we can all agree that he's not good with romance. Everytime Kang and Sailom kissed, I was silently (or not) cringing in front of my screen and I pitied Perth for doing his best at carrying the romance scenes. Perth did all the job and he's one of the best thing that saved this drama from falling further down (even though his role was not the best - I mean, Kang that rejects Sailom for something that HIS BROTHER has supposedly done was pretty sh*tty of him).

Third, and I'll finish with that, GMMTV needs to stop romantising teachers with students!! It's the second time that happens in less than a year (last time was in The Eclipse). I sensed romance between Pimfah and Napdao as soon as Napdao appeared in the story and I really hoped I was wrong but no... they definitely made Pimfah having a crush on Napdao, which is not bad because I'm sure we all had a crush on one of our teachers when we were at school (I did) but what is bad is that Napdao is accepting those feelings and kind of reciprocating. And they tried to cover the whole thing at the end by making her say that she's not their teacher anymore but, I'm sorry, it's still very bad. And of course, like in The Eclipse, the teacher joins the student's trip. I hate that...

Anyway, watch if you want to watch, you're the only judge of what you like.

Lire davantage

Started quite good. Ended quite bad.

So... This series was never a favourite of mine but I enjoyed watching it when an episode came out.

I'm going to start by the things (or rather, thing) that I liked: the cast. This is - personally - the only good thing in this series. Khao and First are, as usual, very good in their roles, but I particularly want to put Neo's and Louis's acting in the spotlight because they are the ones that impressed me the most. Especially Neo whom I'm used to see acting as the funny character only here to make jokes. In The Eclipse, he shows that he is more than just the funny guy in a series and I'm happy for him. I hope that he will be cast in other serious roles. As for Louis, even though I expected a bit more from his role (like an antagonist, or something) - but it's not his fault -, I really liked his acting in this series.

Now, the thing that I didn't like - or not so much... the plot. Well, it started out with an ok plot - not great, but interesting: a curse and the mystery behind it. But then, it rapidly went down the drain. First, I expected something bigger than just Akk doing all those things by himself. Also, the things in question were not exceptionally frightening. I kind of hoped for Thua being the mastermind behind this curse, it would have been more interesting plot-wise and character-wise. Second, the three guys who protest all the time are annoying and they should have been suspended from the school a long time ago already! I mean, I live in France and our education system is probably different from the Thai's one but... wearing a uniform is not something the school is responsible of, right?... So why demonstrating in front of the school instead of the Ministry of Education? Also, even though they have the right to demonstrate to show their displeasure, if they don't agree with the rules of their school and don't abide by them, I think they have the freedom to change school! I'm a teacher, we have rules, and if a student don't abide by the rules, they are punished and that's how schools work in most countries. So even though, the Suppalo's rules are old-fashioned, the students have to respect them or they have the right to go to another school of their choice.

To finish, I'll talk about the editing that was horrendous, especially episodes 11 and 12. In episode 11, we have a scene in which Thua exposes the truth in front of everyone and Akk and his friends were quite unhappy with this "change of personality" - even though, he was always a bit dodgy in my opinion -, and the next part of the episode, they all are reunited around a table talking about Wat's short film as if nothing happened a few minutes before. That was SO WEIRD. Especially from Kan's perspective because I would have expected him to talk about what happened with Thua (as they were already a thing) but nothing. It was so weird... Also, in episode 12, not only was the whole coming out thing a bit too rushed (Aye could've waited a bit before telling Akk's parents that they were together), the teacher joining the boys on their little trip to Akk's house was also very akward. I sometimes even felt like there was supposed to be a thing between her and Wat and that weird me out.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching the series even though I would definitely not rewatch it as once was more than enough.

Lire davantage

A waste of time

I've heard a lot of good things about this series so I started watching it with a good set of mind (and it has an 8.2 mark on this site, so I really thought it would be very good). However... I don't know if it's because I'm probably older than 99% of the people that have watched this series and that my taste have changed over the years I've watched BL but... this series is not the masterpiece people are claiming to be... And I could notice it as soon as the show started!

Let's start with Payu and Rain. Rain is an annoying child... First scene we see him in, he's panicking over the fact that his tire is flat. And even though I can understand that he doesn't know how to change a tire, he really looked like a damsel in distress (especially at the arrival of his knight in shining armour, Payu...). Also, I would have understood his reaction better if he was in the middle of nowhere with no signal on his phone. Here, he was clearly on a busy road and could easily call a garage to help. Next scene, he's trying to get in the pants of his classmates (who is a girl). So... did I miss something in between?... Because we see him fawning over a guy being all giddy with excitement and then, we learn that he is a very straight guy as we can understand from his judgemental remarks about Ple's brother. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know that straight guys can find other guys handsome but... he clearly wasn't fawning over Payu as a straight guy... Also, at the dinner party, I was expecting him to dislike Payu even after he recognised him (just because Ple was talking a lot about him) but no... He went straight back to the not so straight guy fawning over him again. And I won't talk about the fact that he forgets very quickly about his crush for Ple and wants to make Payu fall in love with him just because... This plot has no bloody sense... The editing is sh*t, it goes way too fast and Rain is a child! He acts like a kid since episode 1 and doesn't improve along the way. Let's also not forget that Payu tampered Rain's car at the dinner party for him to be able to do him... What a great relationship! And people liked it?... I thought we were past those kind of plots in a BL...

About Prapai and Sky... I don't have a lot to say. Unlike a lot of people, I prefered this plot and couple to Payu and Rain's (at least, they had something to tell with Sky's past). My problem dwells more on the acting. Sometimes Sky's actor was really crying and delivering his scene, but sometimes, no tears were visible and I felt like he was just forcing himself, which was not very nice to watch. That's a shame because Sky's past is really interesting and important, but I sometimes couldn't get into it because of his acting. As for Prapai, a lot of people complained about his stalking behaviour. Well, I would say that Payu tampered Rain's car... Why forget about that and not about Prapai's behaviour?...

As a whole, I don't recommend this series. There are so many better BL elsewhere, don't waste your time watching this.

Lire davantage

How can people like THIS??!!

Me again, disliking a series that everybody seems to like... Let's talk about it then!

Let's start with the plot (what plot?). I mean... I'm not against simple storylines but they have to be well done and it wasn't the case with this show. There is no flavour to the story (the cast didn't help either) and watching the episodes every week was just a thing I had to do instead of a thing that I enjoyed doing. It rapidly started to get boring (episode 1 was already not a good start) and I felt like they were trying to stretch the end to a max just to reach the 12-episode mark (which wasn't necessary, in my opinion). The characters fell in love too quickly (Moo was already in love at episode 1...) and they added unnecessary drama at the end to try to keep the audience interested in the story (which didn't work for me). I mean, the whole "no dating" rule could've been interesting but it was badly written and directed. Moo was crying for 3 episodes straight just because "Why is Kang not trying to see me if he misses me?" thing when he himself is under a contract that prohibits him from dating and that's the very reason Kang broke up with him. Like... is he stupid or what?

Talking about Moo, let's talk about the characters... Moo is unlikable since episode 1. I can excuse him for his immature behaviour as he's only 18 years old (if I remember correctly) and I was probably like (or even worse than) him when I was his age but I just realise that watching immature characters doing immature things on screen is really not my thing. And I could've accepted it if there was an improvement in his character, if his character grew up throughout the episodes but no... he stayed the same from episode 1 to the end. I remember reading a comment about the preview of episode 11 saying that Moo has matured because he's not running after Kang and just wants to see him (when he finally knows where he studies and decides to go see him) and after watching the episode, I was laughing my a** off how wrong that comment was. Moo never matures throughout the series and he's just plain stupid.

But at least, Moo's actor can somewhat act which is not the case for Kang's actor. I'm sorry to burst your little fan bubble, but this guy can't act. He had the same expression from the beginning to the end. Okay, he can maybe cry a little but I'm wondering if he is not using eye drops to make it happen because his face doesn't show any sadness when he cries. His face is just bland and that's the worse thing for an actor.

Even the rest of the cast couldn't balance it out. The relationship between Potae and Payos started good but, as the rest of the show, it quickly went down the drain as I hate characters that do one step forward and two steps backward. It was exactly how their story went at the end and I wasn't interested enough in the show to care about them. Louis, Milk and Book were nice addition to the show but their characters couldn't save the series. And even Force cameo at the end was so predictable that it didn't add anything to the show (even though, it was still nice to see him).

About the music, they were using a lot of the same songs over and over again and I didn't quite like the songs (just my opinion, of course). I feel like GMMTV is using its actors a lot to sing in their own series and I'm starting disliking it more and more - even though, the premise of the story justifies the use of the songs in this series (but it's not always the case).

Anyway, I'm glad that this monstruosity has finally ended and I can't wait for what's replacing it now: The Trainee. Hope it will be better but it definitely can't be worse looking at the casting.

Lire davantage

A beautiful story

I've waited this drama to finish in order to binge watch it and thank god I did it because this drama is so good that I couldn't wait to watch another episode every time I finished one.

The story is not really original but it is so well-done that it feels unique on its own. The cinematography is absolutely wonderful and the pacing of the story is absolutely right, I think: not too slow but not too fast either (which is a problem in some series nowadays).

All of the actors are fantastic in their role (even the bad guys). I already knew Nonkul was a great actor but I discovered Bright in this series and he's wonderfully talented. The emotional scenes went straight into my heart and he got me teary several times along the drama, which is almost a miracle as it is difficult for me to cry watching fictional stories. I specially remember the scene in which Jom and Yai sleep together for the last time and Yai is crying as he's doing it. That was so beautifully filmed and acted by both Nonkul and Bright, it was amazing. Another scene that I found really beautiful for its rawness is when Jom is applying oil on himself. I didn't know how to feel watching this. I was embarassed at first, feeling that I was watching something that I shouldn't, but at the end, I felt that the scene was very magnificent, and I couldn't help but praising the work behind those kind of scenes. Because some may think that those scenes are just NC scenes to please the audience but I felt that they were something more than just s*x. In the first example, we can see Yai longing for Jom as he knows that the time with him will be over soon. And in the second example, we can see Jom just burning with desire and we understand later why he didn't ask Yai some help. Those scenes really made an impact on me.

Other actors that I want to talk about is Kimmy and his lovely British accent (I knew he was familiar and I've checked his filmography to see that he played one of the rugbyman in Bad Buddy - what a great upgrade!) and Attila. Robert's character was a real j*rk but I love that he was more than that and that we can see that he was really in love with Jeed as the look he gave her at the end before being taken by the police showed.

Of course, I liked the show as a whole and I really liked that they took the time to build the relationship between Yai and Jom instead of making them in love right from the start (even though, it's a bit what's happening but at least, they spend time together, learning about each other before being official). It was still a bit irritating to see Jom so dense when he was facing Yai's feelings (the guy told him right in his face that he had feelings for him and the next day, when he properly confesses, Jom is still acting surprised...) and to see them being all lovey-dovey in places they could easily be seen (don't they know where they are?).

I'm a bit confused about the ending, though, as it is not specifically explained who exactly is the guy at the end. Is he the real Yai from the 1920s (impossible because he should be dead unless he also travelled in time) or is it his reincarnation (possible, but why does he have the exact same name and the same memories as Yai?). I would have loved to see a bit more of them in 2023 and that they explained a bit more of what I'm wondering...

I highly recommend this series (watch the uncut version, it is probably better) and I hope that they will do a second season as I've heard a lot of people talking about it on social media (is it for real?).

Lire davantage

This series has been unfairly commented on

I'm going to write a very subjective review because I think this series received too much unfair criticism since the very start of it and I want to defend it. Of course, this series is far from perfect but it was still really good and I'm really going to miss it as it was the only one series at the moment that I was looking for each week.

So I'm going to start by talking about all the things that I love about this series (and there are a lot!).
- First, the casting, especially Sea and Jimmy. Contrary to what I've read, the two are fantastic actors who had the chance to prove what they are capable of as main leads and they did wonderfully. Their acting is very natural as they manage to show their emotions only through their eyes. I also need to point out their crying scenes which are so well done. Of course, the rest of the cast adds so much to this series, especially Neo and Aou whom we see a lot. Pepper and Boom are nice side kicks but they appear less than the two above, which is a shame because it feels like Talay is not so close with them compared to Up and Aou. I also have to mention Ohm and Nanon who act more like special cameos than real actors of the series (and it is even specified in the opening credits - in Thai, of course). So I'm sick of people complaining about how they would prefer watching Tess and Tun's point of view instead of Talay and Puen's and I only have one thing to say to those people: go rewatch Bad Buddy. Vice Versa is not their series and it was clear from the very first trailer that aired about a year ago. I love Ohm and Nanon in this series (and others) but I'm glad it was not all about them.
- Talking about the cast, unlike a lot of people, I absolutely loved all the cameos. Everytime a familiar face appeared on screen, I was screaming like crazy. I think the cameos blend really well in the story and they add some very funny scenes. It is also full of references about other series that I like such as 2gether or Theory of Love (which is normal as Vice Versa was written by the same author).
- And talking about references, I really love the differences between the two universes (even though there aren't a lot). Especially the way they have to count things. I burst out laughing when I saw Talay trying to count in the new universe way and stopping at three because he didn't want to be rude! Or everytime Up or Aou are showing their ring finger to count four. I thought this was hilarious!
- It was also a criticism that I've often read on this page: Sea and Jimmy's chemistry. I'm so sorry for you to be blind but their chemistry is totally off the chart. My heart melted every time they were looking into each other's eyes and we can totally feel that they are comfortable with each other, like two people in love. I especially love Jimmy's confidence at kissing Sea (and I'm talking about real kisses not those aweful sniff kisses that we too often see in other series). I was so happy they were doing real kisses that I felt disappointed when Jimmy did the only sniff kiss of the series in the last episode. Thank God, Sea responded by a real kiss right after! Anyway, we can really see a couple in love acting on screen which is often a problem in other BL (or non-BL) series. We need more actors like them comfortable with intimate scenes. For the moment, I only know one other actor that is as confident as Jimmy kissing his partner (and others) and it is Nanon (which is kind of funny when we know they were body swapping in this series).
- Another criticism that I've often read was about the story in itself. People were criticising the fact that Talay and Puen were not actively trying to find their portkey and that they were too much focused on the scriptwriting of their films. And even though I agree on the fact that the plot did have some problems, those mentioned above are definitely not one of them. Why? Well, first, Talay definitely tries to actively find his portkey at the very beginning of the series and Puen accompanies him when he arrives in this new universe. But then, what? What would you do in their place? Sleep with all the newcomers until you find one with whom you are dreaming? That is not that easy and the story showed it several times. Talay needed to learn about love (which is not something you do in just a few days, this is not a Disney...) and Puen to rest a bit from this actor's life with a family and friends. I can understand that some people don't like the slow burn type of stories but in that case, move on and stop torturing yourself. Also, I think the series perfectly managed to represent the two types of people that form our society: those who will try to adapt in this new body and life to avoid as much as possible the bad effects of this body swap on the life of the one you take over like Talay and Puen (let's face it, we all would love to have someone like Talay and Puen take over our lives if this kind of thing was possible), and those who will not give a f**k and continue living as they did before like Tess and the one that was in that uncle's body, completely ruining their life (which is apparently how the majority of the people on this site will react if they are confronting with the same situation...). Don't get me wrong, I understand why Tess quit Talay's job but, first, he could've done it in a more amiable way and, second, there's no excuse for him to have cut ties with Talay's friends.
- The cinematography and the colouring of each episode are so wonderful to watch. Each shot is a pleasure for the eyes.
- Last but not least, the music. I absolutely love it since I've watched the first episode, and even more when I've listened to the OST sung by Sea. I listen to this song at least once a day. Now, I just need to find the opening song but I can't find it anywhere, which is a real shame because this music is a gem.

Now, the things that I didn't quite like in this series...
- The very first thing (and a lot of people agree on that one): the product placements. I know that they have to be sponsored and thus, promote the products of those sponsors but it was too much. First, this is the only series (I remember) that had FOUR ads at the beginning of each part of each episode! Usually, there are only two so I don't know why they accepted so much for this series (money, of course, but it was a poor decision...). Second, the product placements were too out of place. They didn't fit in the story very well and sometimes, there were too many product placements in a short period of time. Of course, this is not the only series in which the product placements were poorly integrated into the story (it is the case in every and each GMMTV series) but they could've made some effort. Especially when some of the products were better integrated like the scooter or even the choco pie ones (yes, I know that most of this product placement scenes were as weird as the tea or the toothpaste ones but at least, it gave us one of the best scene in a BL series: the nom-nom scene).
- As I said above, the story also has some problems. For instance, I felt like Talay's problems when he came back into his own universe were resolved way too fast. So his work problem can probably be justified by the special feature of the director of the company (I don't know his status) he was hired in at first and the problem he had with his friends can probably be justified by... how awesome his friends are, but I felt like it was too easy and it only took a few minutes from the episode to be resolved. Also, many locations in this series were new to me (and I've watched a LOT of Thai series) and I really felt like it was another universe because never used in another series before. But as soon as Talay and Puen are back in their universe, the locations previously introduced in the other universe appear in their universe as well (the greenhouse, the mall, the café and the restaurant in construction on the roof). So it felt not so special anymore. I will also add the fact that, in episode 12, we can see Talay drinking from a beer can that is covered by this weird black thing we could see covering beer cans in the other universe all along. I thought it was a special thing from this other universe but apparently not, and it felt a bit out of place to see it in the real universe. I'll also add that when they took pictures, there's one time when we could see Talay's and Puen's face on the photo, which is not normal because we should've seen Tess's and Tun's. I'll finish by saying that the passing of time in the series is a bit too rushed. We don't feel like almost two years have passed even though it is clear that time passes by as they are writing two films. But it doesn't feel like it as we watch Talay and Puen live their lifes as Tess and Tun.

I think I wrote enough about this series and I'm really happy to have done so as I was really bothered by the too many bad comments written on this site. At least, my mind is free now!

Of course, I recommend 100% watching this series, you won't regret it (unless you are one of those who want to watch only for Ohm and Nanon or think Talay and Puen don't make any effort to go back to their universe - as if it was the most simple thing to do...).

Lire davantage

Not the masterpiece that everyone is talking about...

After PitBabe the Series, I've been had once again by the rating and the praise that I've read about the series. However, once again, I'm feeling disconnected with all the people praising those two series because I don't find them really enjoyable to watch (but to be fair to The Sign, PitBabe was way worse!).

I'll be totally honest, this was not a bad series. But it is far from the masterpiece that everyone on the net is saying it is. There are a lot of flaws that I can't ignore as they were pretty big to fully enjoy the story.

So, I'm going to talk about the things that I liked first:
- the CGI (and the mythology plot). I was really impressed with the shot in episode 1 where Phaya is almost drowning and he sees the Naga and the woman trying to save him. It was really impressive and I was hopeful about the quality of the show. Unfortunately, the mythology part of the story was put aside very rapidly but everytime Phaya was stuck in his "dreams", the CGI was very good. Apart for the fights between the Naga and Garuda and sometimes the image was too blured that my eyes started to hurt but I'll still put that as a like.
- Billy. I'm not really a fan of his work (I hated and dropped Secret Crush on You and have only seen War of Y that I liked) but I'm not denying that he's a good actor and he knows how to deliver emotions (contrary to his partner...) - even though, it was sometimes too much but it's undeniably the director's fault and not his because he was asked to act that way.
- Doctor Chalothon. The best thing in this series (with maybe Lieutenant Akk). I wanted to punch him in the face so many times but, because he was supposed to be the villain (or one of them), he did it perfectly.

I can't thing of any other things that I liked so I'm going to move on with the things that I didn't like (and there are more!):
- Tharn / Babe. I don't hate the actor as I disliked Charlie's actor in PitBabe but we have to admit that he only has one expression throughout the series (except when he tries to cry). I wasn't moved by his delivery and I'm pretty sure that it's also because his character was badly written. Despite being the hero of the story, Tharn is not a good character: he is dumb and, even though, I could believe he loved Phaya at the beginning of the series, I was not so sure about it from the middle until the end. The guy believes in his fate and in the dreams that Phaya is experiencing (he also has visions of the future). He believes Phaya when he tells him about their past lives and that there's a man that wants to separate them (and he's actually dumb not to immediately think about the doc when the guy is mentionned but not named - but I can excuse him for not thinking about him). However, I can't excuse him for not believing Phaya when he finally tells him that the guy he was talking about earlier was the doc and that he even accuse him to just be jealous of him. I'll be honest, if I was Phaya at this very moment, I would have told him to f**k off. Especially because, at the beginning of the series, when Phaya is angry at him because he thinks Tharn told the doc about his dreams, Tharn says that he would talk to the doc about it but he never does!! Also - I was so shocked about that -, he didn't even react when the doc openly confronted Phaya in front of everybody and openly said that his behaviour and traits were those of a mentally ill person (or something like that). And the very end of the series confirmed my suspicions about him not loving Phaya as he came back ONE YEAR LATER and the only excuse he had was that he felt bad for Chalothon, like WTF!!! The guy prefers to stay with the guy that almost killed his supposed lover several times and that blackmailed him to kill his loved ones instead of trying to flee and go back to the one he's supposed to love. That was ridiculous...
- the fight scenes and the whole Montree plot. For a seven-month special training, I found that the guys were sometimes easily at a disadvantage in a fight against someone sometimes not specially trained and not even that muscular... You're not going to tell me that the forensic guy that were working with them at the beginning can fight both Tharn and Phaya and make them difficult to catch him, I won't believe it. And yet, it happened... Also, the scriptwriters decided to leave the mythology plot aside to focus on Tharn's father's death and I couldn't care less. I thought at the beginning that it was linked to his past life as the characters around him and even himself constantly repeated that he was cursed and every person that he loved was condemned but it had nothing to do with that. They are two different stories that they tried to link without success... Also, I'm curious to know who is the person that Yai was talking about and that supposedly died because Tharn loved them because I don't think he was talking about Tharn's parents at this moment so I'm still waiting for an answer...
- the abbot and Tharn's grandmother. A lot of people on YT wrote in the comments that the abbot deserved his own series because he was protecting Tharn so much and so on. But... if the abbot wasn't there, it would have been the same... He did nothing the whole time while he knew who was after Tharn! He even asked Phaya to bring Tharn to him on the day this whole mess was supposed to end but he did nothing to protect Tharn at all!!! And I would even blame the grandmother as she knew that the doc was preying on her own grandson and was not even human... I know that if they told him the truth earlier, there wouldn't be a story but make it make sense if you want your audience not to be disturb as the fact that the closest persons to Tharn were the ones that let him be in danger his whole life.
- the NC scenes. I don't really mind s*x scenes in general but I felt like they were making them just for the sake of it and I hate that kind of thinking. Phaya just woke up after almost being dead, he's not even recovered, and the only thing that he does is to go to Tharn's flat and sleep with him. What a great mind... Also, the "good bye" s*x scene they have before Tharn disappears was so freaking long that I had to skip most of it. It lasted more than 6 minutes and I wouldn't have complained that much if it was animated but nothing happened, it was boring!! They were simply kissing gently for 1 or 2 minutes before changing position... Also, I know they have to censor some of the scenes but instead of blurring the a**es of the actors, they could've just not shot below the waist because the blur was a bit disturbing...
- the second part of the series. The first part was mostly watchable for me to be kept interested but from episode 7 or 8, I started watching it with my phone on the side which is a good indication that the series is not entertaining enough.
- the delay of the last episode. The last episode was supposed to be out on the 11th and it was really annoying to wait another two weeks to watch the series...

As a whole, I don't particularly recommend the series, but I'm not saying you shouldn't watch it either. You probably will like it like 99% of the people who watched it, I feel... It is simply not my cup of tea.

Lire davantage

A must-see for Lee Do Hyun

So... I started watching this drama because I was curious about this Korean remake of the movie 17 Again. I remember liking the film (I even have it on DVD) so I really wanted to see the Korean version. And... I have mixed feelings about it.

First of all, the story. Well, it's basically the same from the movie (at least, for the main plot). Because, of course, you can't make a remake of a 1h45 film into a 16h drama without developing the initial story. But, if the story was pretty good at the beginning, it became more and more filled with drama... Too much drama... I ended up really annoyed by all the useless drama that they have created. Moreover, there are too much clichés!!! They have used all the typical romantic clichés that we usually see in K-drama and that became more annoyingly funny than romantic at the end... They could've been more creative about that. Also, I think they made some really bad decisions with the main plot (but that's just my opinion). For example, the scene where he goes back to his old self was more impactful in the film than in the drama.

The casting was the only thing that was perfect in this drama. I mean, Lee Do Hyun killed it in the role of a young dad. He made me laugh, he made me cry. I really fell in love with him in this drama. I'll always remember the scene where he was holding the umbrella for his two children, that was so cute. Or the scene where he signs to his dad after the basketball match. The rest of the cast was also good, of course, but Lee Do Hyun stole the show for me.

The music is really good, although overused.

As a whole, I would say it is a good show to watch once. Prefer rewatching the film instead, it will take less of your time.

Lire davantage

Avoid if you're a fan of the manga

So... as a big fan of the manga, I was totally ecstatic when I heard there was going to be an adaptation of this manga into a drama. I was really hopeful as a lot of recent Japanese BLs like Cherry Magic, Keita Atsukoi or Old-fashioned Cupcake are fantastic adaptations and are praised by many. But as soon as I watched the first episode, I knew it was going to be far from those dramas in terms of quality and acting (especially acting...).

The story is, in my opinion, the best thing of this drama as it was taken from the manga - minor some changes. And I would even argue that the changes made were well-made. The major change is that they took the plot from the fourth book and they put it in the middle of the plot from the first book. It doesn't really change anything to be honest so I didn't mind that change. What I didn't quite like, though, was the fact that they didn't really define the role of the girl that we see in the first episode (and that appears once again in another episode after that). We don't know who she is and why Onoe reacts how he does when he sees her with Kaburagi. In the manga, it is clear: this girl is (or was) his girlfriend and he broke up with her because of Kaburagi (as he thought she was cheated on him with him). So, if you haven't read the manga before I don't know how you can understand what is happening during those scenes. Also, the different cases the characters work on felt a little flat, boring even, but I would say that it is more the fault of the direction rather that the story in itself.

My main argument about this disaster is the acting. I admit that I probably think that because I compare the acting with the characters that I know from the manga. But let's face it: the drama has been made for the manga lovers or at least, they knew that the fans of the manga would watch this series so... why didn't they respect the characters from the manga!! My main complain is about Onoe's character. In the manga, he is a joyful character, very outgoing and very expressive. Anybody can see what he is feeling just by looking at him. But here, in the drama, the actor is so bland!!! And I'm not entirely blaming only the actor, it is also the director's fault as he accepted him to act like this!! He probably even asked him to act like this!! And I don't understand this decision because Onoe is a very loving character and I didn't like him at all in the drama... The actor of Kaburagi had it easier as Kaburagi is an introvert but the acting wasn't great on his part either... And that's a shame because I know that if the actors studied a minimum the characters from the manga and understood what to do with them, I would have probably liked the drama much better.

I would add that the kisses were okay and I was quite surprised that they filmed a bed scene (even though, it was pretty cringe) but I think I would have prefered nothing like Cherry Magic and Keita Atsukoi and actors that know how to act...

So don't watch if you're a fan of the manga, you will probably regret it. If not, watch it without expecting too much.

Lire davantage

Don't waste your time on this one and watch the Japanese adaptation instead

Before writing my review, I need to make things clear (which I shouldn’t have to do but fans are so delusional these days that they would argue the tiny bit of things and make you a hater): I love Gemini and Fourth. As an on-screen couple, but also as artists. I don’t consider myself a fan as I’m not really listening to their songs and don’t intend to watch their “straight” series, as I mostly watch BL, but I still love their personalities and follow them on social media. I love their acting (especially Fourth) and their singing (in My School President specifically as I said that I don’t listen to their songs). I should also add that I absolutely love the Japanese adaptation of the manga and have read the manga. But it’s been a few years now and I totally forgot about the manga (not the drama, though, as I watched it several times already).

That being said, I can write my review and, oh boy, this series was bad… Not bad as it hurt my eyes watching it and I forced myself to finish it (*kofkof* My Only Boo! *kofkof*), but bad as I watched it once, it was not good, so I’m not going to watch it again. And don’t get me wrong! I was so happy and excited when they first announced that they were going to make a Thai adaptation with Gemini and Fourth, but maybe it was because I expected too much of them that I now feel very disappointed.

And yet, unlike a lot of people, I actually liked the first episode. I was really happy with this first episode, so when the second episode came out, I was still excited about this series. But this second episode signed the end of my enjoyment for this series and the beginning of my disappointment that would not end (even though, some episodes were better than others). Yes, I’m talking about the infamous episode of the Cinderella… musical… I'm not going to repeat what I've already said in the comment section but this episode was awful with all those unnecessary changes. Atom not dressing up as Cinderella, totally erasing the sacrifice that Aoki makes for one of his classmates. The fact that the two class presidents totally dismissed Mudmee's feelings by forcing her to play the role, even though she clearly stated that she had stage fright. Transforming the play into a freaking musical just for the sake of seeing Gemini and Fourth sing. A musical that is - by the way - made for whom exactly? Because no parents were in the theatre and the room was half filled with students. And I would add that one of the part was less than 4 minutes, which was hilariously ridiculous (and, for once, a lot of people complained about it in the YT comments).

And I'm kind of sick of those people defending those changes based on poor political arguments that are quickly and strongly getting on my nerves. The change of the young teacher's character, for example. I've read a lot of comments praising the fact that it was good that they changed the "homophobic" teacher into a gay one. How is it good exactly? Because you're erasing a very important message and a pretty good character's growth from the story. This arc showed that some people are ignorant about certain things and that with a little bit of communication and understanding, those people can change for the better. But no. Now, we can't see homophobia on screen - it is too much for the viewers who are becoming more and more little fragile snowflakes -, even though it still exists today. And by the way, the teacher was never a homophobe - but a very prejudiced person - as he would probably not have changed opinions that quickly.

Furthermore, a lot of people argued the fact that we don’t like the series just because the manga was adapted for a Thai audience so it will obviously be different from the Japanese original material. But… Cherry Magic was also adapted for a Thai audience and it did really well and most of the people loved this adaptation. So why is it not the same for this adaptation? Can someone dare to explain? Because my explanation is easy: the director of Cherry Magic understood the original story and characters and adapted the story with minor changes (or changes that didn’t damage the original plotline of the story). While this director (even though I loved his previous work as a director) doesn’t understand a thing about the story and even less about the characters… To him, it was just an excuse to do a My School President n°2 without really doing a second season to this series. That’s why we have a musical instead of a play, a lot of musical numbers, endless references about this series and even a cameo of the band Chinzilla… And the worse thing is that people love that just because they love My School President but… This series is NOT My School President! This is My Love Mix-Up! And the two series shouldn’t be made the same way because this is not the same story! Imagine if we had references to previous work that Tay and New did together as a couple in Cherry Magic. It would’ve been ridiculous… Although, I’m pretty sure the fans that absolutely like and defend this series would have also loved those references…

The other thing people bring up when they want to defend this series is that it is following the manga and is going to include the whole story unlike the Japanese drama. However… I may not remember much about the manga but I’m pretty sure the Japanese drama was way more faithful to the manga than this Thai adaptation. Ok, they only did about half of the manga, but at least the first part was very faithful to it (minus a few changes that didn’t change the original plotline of the story – see my comment above). This Thai version has way too many changes and not the best one at that! So what's your excuse for that? I'm just a hater?...

I would also add that there were way too many adverts and they were absolutely not very well included into the story. I'm just going to refer to the final episode (as it is the most recent one) but the cat food advert literally shocked me. The fact that Kongthap blatantly said that the cat hates everybody, even him, but it makes exceptions only for the cat food was ridiculous beyond belief. And I've seen my share of ridiculous product placement...

Anyway, I'm glad that this series have ended and I really really REALLY hope that Ossan's Love is not going to be the same. I've heard it is the same director so I hope he won't destroyed this adaptation as well. At least, we won't have My School President's references as the main leads are Earth and Mix. But I'm afraid he's going to use A Tale of a Thousand Stars as he was an assistant director to this series (hope Aof won't let him do it!).

Lire davantage

Like or dislike? That is the question...

Ok, so... I really don't know what to think of this series. On one hand, I really liked it and binge watched it without pausing (what I do when I don't really like a show). But on the other hand, I disliked a lot of things that I got very frustrated at times.

I mostly agree with a lot of comments and reviews on this page so I'm probably going to just write those points again but here I go.

First, the editing was horrendous - especially at the end of the series. There is one scene in which First told Sprite (whom he still thinks he's Zee) why he was mad (Zee said that he was dating Salmon and that he never liked him) and the next scene with them, Sprite goes to First all smiles and he's surprised that First is mad and asked him why... If First didn't say back to him it was because of what he said earlier, I would've thought the scriptwriters forgot about the mall scene just before... The same happened after Sprite told First the truth. First is mad at him and asks him to leave him alone and the next scene, First goes see him, Sprite hugs him and First is okay with that?! Those are the scenes that shocked me the most but there are more nonsense like that throughout the series... It's so confusing...

Second, they dragged the plot sooo much that they could've made 8 or 10 episodes maximum, it would've been way better. After Zee recovers from his injuries, they invented a false excuse for him to live the life of Sprite that it got ridiculous. Why would Zee want to live Sprite's life when he wanted to get his life back as soon as possible. Also, they brushed it off so fast, they didn't even show much of his life as Sprite that this plot was totally unnecessary. And the whole lie thing... Oh, my word!!! I even got spoilt before watching the series so I knew the lie was not going to be revealed until the very last episode and still! I got so frustrated because of it... I knew they wanted to make some drama but it was so ridiculous that it would've been better for Sprite to tell First the truth sooner and then they could've take the time to reconcile in a propre way (because it was way too fast in my opinion). I really pitied First when one day Zee (who was actually Sprite) was all lovey dovey and then the next day, he was cold as ice. And the worst thing is that we had scenes with Sprite after that, complaining to his friend that he didn't know why First was mad at him... This guy is so dumb...

Third, there are so many plot holes... They start something but they don't show much of how it is resolved. For example, Zee got drugged and couldn't play his match so Sprite came to the rescue. But we don't know how he knew Zee needed help (I suppose Zee called him but it's just a supposition as no scenes showed him make the call) and we don't know if he managed to do his own match (because of course, the jiu jitsu and the volleyball matches were always on the same day...). Also, Koh was never punished for drugging Zee's water (nobody actually talked about this drugged moment after that, it was never mentioned, it's as if it never existed...). The same goes for the ones responsible for Zee's assault. No punishments whatsoever. And the conflict between them and Sprite was a bit shown at the beginning, Sprite knew who were his brother's assaulters, but he does nothing until his brother miraculously finds a CCTV camera (which is illogical because the assaulters said at the beginning that there were no cameras so...).

Fourth, I think this is a shame that we don't see Sprite doing jiu jitsu as much. I know he's busy with covering up for his brother doing volleyball but it's as if he totally gives up on jiu jitsu and then, when there's a match, he's ready for his match (but how could he be ready without practice?...). Also, I think we all agree on the fact that Zee is a jerk. We have no explanation whatsoever as to why he's acting like that with his teammates. I first thought he didn't really like volleyball and that it was his mother who was forcing him continue, but he proved me wrong at the end so it is just the proof that he's simply a jerk. Also, being mad at his brother just because of a puzzle is, once again, ridiculous. But it was not the first time that the show made some dumb decisions...

As a whole, although the series got me frustrated so many times, I still enjoyed it. I really liked the two main actors. I also like the supporting cast, even though I wasn't really interested in their stories (and thank God for that because I felt for the fans of Jack and Mike's ship when they summed up their story by "I can't see you as more than a friend" - it was hilarious to be honest). The plot could've been much better if it was better edited, directed and, sometimes, acted. My main problem with this series will always be the editing choice and the script that sometimes made no sense at all.

Would I recommend this series? Definitely! It's a good watch. But I would totally understand if you don't like it.

Lire davantage

It could have been much better

First of all, I would like to thank the Spanish subs because without them, I wouldn't have been able to finish the series. My Spanish is limited but I understood enough to get the gist of it. And... I didn't quite like it.

I'll be honest, the first two episodes were quite good. Good story, good actors, good comedy, I really enjoyed them. But then, I don't know if it was because of the subtitles that I had to read in Spanish or if the story really went down the drain but I lost interest. At the same time, it is quite hard to watch a series about a couple you don't root for. I'm sorry for Fluke's fans but I prefered to see Met with Phum than with Krit. And I actually pity Met. Not only did this poor guy lose his life/body but he also lost his first love and I was quite mad at Krit for falling for Phum when he was in Met's body... Well... I know it's not really his fault but I would totally blame Phum for it because not only did he fall in love with Krit while being in Met's body but he even pursued Krit when Krit asked him to back off and rejected Met in his own house while flirting with Krit just after. Wow! I was so mad at his behaviour, that was so disrespectful! So, I really liked Met's character and story and I was very disappointed that he was not the main character in this love story. Therefore, I quickly lost interest in the story, especially because Krit steals another life after that.

Anyway... Thank God it was short because I don't think I would have continued otherwise...

Lire davantage

A very good drama that could've been better

So... I've just finished watching Triage and... it was good. It was really good! So good that I've finished it in only one day. Then, why is my mark this low, you could ask. Well, the main plot was really interesting and quite consistent for a series that has to film several times the same scenes. But I still noticed some flaws that I can't get over with.

The first thing that I thought was weird was the development of the main leads relationship. Tin has lived several times the same scene (Tol's death and him trying to resuscitate him). Then, he relived the whole day. I don't know how many times but we see him relive it only a couple of times (once when he was looking for Tol and told him he was gonna die and once when he was punched by Tol for mentioning Mai). Finally, we have the first scene in which he managed to relive the day before and from then on, it was weird because Tin acted as if he was already in love with Tol. But we didn't see them interact that much at this point so it was really weird to see Tin looking at Tol with lovey dovey eyes and I would have hoped to see more development in that part.

The second big problem of the show for me is the whole Dr. Sak and Doi organs trafficking plot. Thankfully, even though it was a big part of the plot, it only started to become more important at the end of the series. But the whole thing with Doi trying to kill Sing and Gap (TWICE !) was a mess... The first time, Sing fell into Doi's trap only because they were "friends" and he thought he could change his mind. Since when were they friends? We never saw them interact and the few times they had a scene together, Sing was annoyed at Doi. So that is inconsistent. The second time, Gap rushed to Sing's flat without even calling the police?! Like... I know the police in Thailand might not be the best and trusting police you can have but they would have probably arrested a man threatening to kill your boyfriend with a gun. I'm pretty sure of it. They never called the police when they had the chance to and that was really annoying to watch. Also, when did Doi have the time to go back to the hospital (after being in Sing's flat) just to inject (what?) to Tin? It makes no sense!

The last things I want to rant about is, where did Tol send Tin to (when he was still in the coma)? He was taking care of him at Tin's house and all of a sudden, he transfered him somewhere else. We also have no idea how long Tin spent in a coma. And who the f**k was that guy in black that killed Tin in Tin's last loop? He seemed to want to kill Tol but how was Tol related to all of this? I don't understand...

But anyway! Apart from this two things (the second one being the most annoying one), the series was really good and I would still recommend it to anyone.

Lire davantage

Not good but short

It wasn't the worst drama I've seen but it wasn't the best either. Especially when Taiwan has made much better BL dramas than this one.

The story was rushed. We have a pretty good start with the main couple at the beginning but then, it shifts towards the other couple who has more subtance to the story, to be fair. Also, there is no development at all between the two main leads. One seems to fall in love at first sight but that's it and when he confessed, it cut short. No feelings at all. I don't know if it's a problem coming from the acting or the script (probably both...).

The acting was good but not great. Totally forgettable. So is the music.

So, is it really worth watching? I'd say, yes, because it's short but this is the only good thing about this drama.

Lire davantage