When I saw this series with 8 episodes of about 20-25 minutes each, I thought, good: Finally someone has come to senses and made a show which is not stretched out and they have tried to squeeze in a decent storyline in a good small episode format. But unfortunately, despite a decent premise on hand, the clunky writing, bad screenplay and an extreme tasteless portrayal of mental illness makes this show, not a fun watch. By the time it finishes, you just want to laugh off at the entire absurdity of it all.
Aioun is talented tuxedo designer and very much in demand but he has handful of clients and he builds suits only for people who he feels a connection to. One night when his younger brother is about to get mugged, he is helped by a total stranger named Sichol. Since he tears his suit in the fight and has an interview the next day, Aioun gifts him a suit form his design as an expression of thanks. Sichol's interview is for. Personal assistant of a man named Nawee, a wealthy heir to his father's business. He initially disregards Sichol but looking at the suit, he offers him a job if Sichol can get Nawee made a similar suit. Now , because Aioun's father was cheated by Nawee's father, he point blank refuses to do a suit for Nawee. School uses various techniques to get the two guys together which eventually happens (by hook and by crook) and somehow every time Aioun and Nawee end up kissing one another. We then find out details of a childhood trauma that Nawee has because of which whenever leaves home. As the duo are starting to get close, surprise appearance of Aioun's girlfriend shakes things up but eventually love wins.
Initially the show feels slightly charming. The witty yet stupid Sichol is an interesting character and even the two kisses that Nawee and Aioun share has some silly premise and no logical sense, but are still enjoyable. Its shame that the makers completely lose the plot in last two episodes and bite off more than they can chew. There are way too many subplots and neither gets the attention that it should. Rift between Aioun's two brothers, Nawee's childhood trauma, his father disowning him angle, random girlfriend showing up, acrophobia are shown touched upon but nothing is given a satisfactory explanation or logical conclusion. Had the show stayed more on the lighter side and portrayed a dumbed down version, it could have been enjoyable. I kept imaging, if this was aJapanese show and how they have somehow mastered the art of these over the top reactions and stories like these are perfect in a Japanese BL setting. The love story between the two leads is random. Its not organic and doesn't get time to build up at all. Yes, they have a good chemistry but the premise is absurd and their flirtatious exchanges are just that: exchanges. The good thing about the show was its aesthetics, good sets, properly dressed up cute guys and thats it. The leads as actors are strictly ok. Its only the character of Sichol that actually manages to stand out with his wits and charm and ready to do anything to keep his job.
I won't feel good recommending the show, even as a guilty pleasure. There is hardly any substance to the story and lavish proper visuals can only save you so much. (3.5/10)
Comments
Have you seen "Unforgotten night" yet?
P.S! DON'T WATCH "Cutie Pie". Just... don't.
I did notice that Singer machine. I guess its popular all over the world.
THx for the warning against 'Cutie Pie' , but now the evil side of me wants to see it even more.(no one but to blame ourselves)
I agree with Miisu, I'd say to avoid "Cutie Pie" (some people liked it a lot though...)
On the other side for thai BL I'm currently watching Vice Versa and it's giving me the same happy feeling as Bad Buddy, makes me smile all the time. I hope it will continue like this.
;)
"Unforgotten Night", however, was a pleasant surprise in many ways, despite some goofs and unreal details, but in the end ended up being a nice piece of porn for girls* - I'm obviously the target group (there are cats, a photo of Prague on the wall, and a really beautiful vendetta scene). "Golden Blood"... maybe. Good maybe, not bad maybe.
*"Porn for girls" comes from an Estonian stand-up comedy show where two girls discussed the differences between male and female world. Q: Why do girls always watch porn videos from beginning to end? A: Because they will definitely get married in the end! So any film/series/book ending with a wedding is "porn for girls" since that show :D
Its funny how much of our time we are ready tp waste on some of these silly shows.
There is another small taiwanese series I forgot to advise : About youth. Such a warm feeling watching this one, I think you'll like it.
Miracle of teddy bear : I was told its not really a BL but a weird concept where a teddy bear comes to life and all, so I had decided to not watch it
Thx for "About Youth" I don't think I have that with me, so I need to look out for it
The only thing (MY thing) that made me... I don't know, not cringe-cringe, but flinch every time I saw it - the effing Full Moon. The Moon is one of the easiest symbols to use for marking a stage in a process (Waxing Crescent for something fresh, Waning Crescent for something reaching the end etc), and every time a night sky is shown, there's the large pancake of a Full Moon. /insert sarcasm/ Well, that explains the borderline lunacy these series convey sometimes :D
Included "About Youth" in my to-be-watched list as well. Thanks again!
"Oh! My Sunshine Night" - BL meets telenovela. A bad bitch caused a helicopter crash in the mountains, the parents of one protagonist were found dead, the brother and one pilot are still missing. 2 more episodes to wait for.
"The Eclipse" - 8/12 broadcasted. Mixed feelings. Love and friendship, yes, but the curse-storyline is so weak so far. Optimist in me hopes it will get better.
"Ai Long Nhai" - 2 episodes out, no opinion yet. But it kinda got me, I'll keep watching.
"Fahlanruk" - 4/12 out. Two f*ckboys fall for each other and try to hide it behind bravado for a while. Like the concept and the meet-cute. The NC scenes are there since the first episode, no need to wait until episode 10/12 :D BUT the scenes are borderline... something I'd look for in XXX portals. No joke here, but I read "director of pornography" instead of "director of photography" in the end titles. Thank you, Freud :D
"Love in the Air" - 7/13, by MAME (TharnType, Don't Say No). Love the soundtrack, love the concept, love the 4 protagonists, love the dialogue. There are so many details that stir my heart - starting from a Guns n'Roses T-shirt I spotted in the audience in the very first episode to the character of Payu, who's a soaking wet dream of any sapiosexual person out there. Seriously hoping that there will be revenge for abuse in the future episodes. Good luck finding the uncensored versions, since so many sites have cut out the NC scenes (everything's there, all that's missing is full frontal :D )
P.S! Maybe the Moon is always full in Thailand :D ? Some countries have only summer or only winter, maybe there are countries that have only one phase of the Moon :D ?
Completed:
"Roommate" (4 episodes, Thai) - meh? Assessment: waste of any resources.
"Secret Crush On You" (14 episodes, Thai) - hmm. Approving toxic behavior, constant whining, wife-cringe. Assessment: Waste of ammo.
"My Engineer" (14 episodes, Thai) - well. Aesthetically enjoyable visual in the form of the protagonists, lovely child actors doing a great job. Wife-cringe, trope overload. Assessment: enter at own risk.
"Check Out" (14 episodes, Thai) - inbetween. Painfully slow at the beginning. NC scenes overly choreographed. Whining protagonist-cringe. Trope overload, porn-for-girls-ending. Gets better in the second half. Assessment: maybe (good maybe, not bad maybe).
"My Secret Love" (12 episodes, Thai) - fluff alert. Hardcore-porn-for-girls. Cringe-behavior in the first episodes, gets better more toward the end. Locations, outfits and great families. Assessment: survive the beginning, at least like the rest.
"About Youth" (8 episodes, Taiwan) - awwww. Delicate, emotional. Assessment: binge (at least twice). Thanks a few million @Sailor Maan for recommending!
Ongoing:
"Big Dragon" (Thai) - after the first episode... feeling bipolar :D Like the soundtrack, like the locations and outfits, LOVE the French farce moments added by two bodyguards, but already spotted toxic behavior and kinda scared. Assessment: too soon to say anything.
I have a LOT to catch up on.
I had quit watching "Check out". Such a disapointment after the very good "episode 0". But I'll follow your advise and give it another chand for the second half.
"My secret love" was my very welcome surprise (ok, after 1st episode) when I absolutely expected nothing from it. If you like fluffy series have you seen "My ride"? That would be another fluff alert lol.
Damn these asian countries.. churning out BL shows every day and poor me has no time to catch up on these. Lol
@Sailor Maan - I was feeling meh after realizing that "Oh! My Sunshine Night" was extended from 16 to 20 episodes, but yesterday it reached finale in 18. I had to admit that alas, I'm really cheap when wishmaking and hey-notice-the-tiny-details are included. Like the couple comets, the last piece of the puzzle and keeping promises in this one. The telenovela-ish stuff towards the end was also better than in actual telenovelas, if I can trust my memory in that 'cause the last time I saw one I was in high school and that was in the last century :D You guessed correctly, right now I need all kinds of fluff since the Grand Darkness period is approaching here and that warm summery fluff overdose might be a healthy weapon against that torturing gloom. I included "My Ride" in my list and moving it upward, thanks again! I also like anything that has instant karma in it, like "dug a hole for someone else and fell in it himself"-kind of tropes, oh - and (Tarot) cards as well. Feel free to recommend anything, crap is fine, too :D
"Check Out" has a few goofs and a veeeeery slooooooow begiiiiiiinnnning, the thing that kept me watching was photographers at work. Lovely break from all that architecture and engineering overload :D
@Golu - well you can use us as test drivers or guinea pigs or lab rats, we have already saved you some time (unless you're secretly watching "Cutie Pie" and "Enchanté" :D )
Btw, you have probably seen "Until we meet again", but did you see the first episode of its new parallel-story-series "Between us"? While so many other series present characters who don't bother to ask for consent and practice various levels of sleep abuse, the 6-question... interview... in "Between us" was really unexpected to say the least. The authors must have read the blogs, including this one here :)
Miisu it's hard to recommend syou anything now, looks like you're ahead of me haha!! Have you watched "Cherry blossoms after winter" Golu has just reviewed? If you want fluff, you'll have in cherry blossom petals shapes on screen, litteraly. There is also one not very known that I absolutely love : Rak Diao. Be warned though, it's a sitcom, the first episode might shock you.
I haven't started Between us yet, I will eventually but I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of Prem... In the possible recommendations have you watched "My only 12%"? It has very good reviews but I can't stand Earth as an actor so I'm really hesitant to start it. Plus it also has Prem. And the mini shorts... Yeah, I'm still staying as far away as I can from this one for now ^^
@Sailor Maan - it's only smoke and mirrors that I'm ahead of you, really. I just started from the newest series, from 2021 and 2022, so anything older than that is "new" to me. I'm waiting for the "12%" to end and will watch it then, the plot seems somewhat... appealing. "Cherry Blossoms" will move forward in my list. I sooooo get it why you can't stand Earth as an actor, imho he shows very little variety in portraying different characters - maybe it's his age or whatever. My sh*t tolerance seems to be tougher than yours, so today I'm willing to give him a chance or two... emphasis on "today" :D I can volunteer as official poop-checker (© Sid from "Ice Age" :D ) and watch "12%" before you - ? The "Ghost host, ghost house" and "Catch me baby" are also on hold until they reach finale, I sense the "traditional slow" so I'd rather watch them in one go, if possible. "Between us" seems to be good, I like the unravelling emotional baggage storyline. Thanks for "Rak Diao", I read the plot and it got my attention - hope it can hold it as well.
@Golu - indeed we are impressed with both your time management and sh*t tolerance, you have saved me hours of time with some reviews for sure :)