Water Boyy (2017)

While there are good themes about young love being explored in the series, there are just too many stories to keep track of that some are left undeveloped or rushed towards the end. Maybe if it had more episodes then these stories would have “matured” better.

The acting is good — the artists gave their best with the material that they got. I sensed though that many struggled playing the more intimate or emotional scenes, regardless of whether they’re playing as one half of a hetero or a homo pair. I guess it is something that they can improve on over time.

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A clusterfuck with some good moments

Representation: First of all, Pan is a LESBIAN in a BL drama. It's a miracle. A miracle turned disaster because of Fah. It perpetuates the idea that lesbians simply haven't found the right man. I don't even want to talk about corrective rapes. Make her bisexual from the start if you want Pan choosing between a man and a woman. Given how heteronormative every society is, how likely is it that an openly gay lesbian finds out she's bi? We didn't even get her inner struggle about her identity once she finds out she's attracted to a man, after knowing herself to be lesbian for a long time. They fucked up Pan's whole character. Also, I just wish Apo and Waii got together after Waii broke up with Fay. It fed into the stereotype that bisexual guys are indecisive and unfaithful. You can explore your emotions and sexuality without betraying people. But I like how Waii lost both Apo (for a year) and Fay in the end. The show has a lot of homophobic elements but none of the characters actually call homophobic behavior out. When Puth called Kluay and Achi bride and groom, no one corrected him. During the homophobic bullying scene, the only retort the main characters had was, "Mind your own business!" Weak.

Apo and Waii have good chemistry. Visually, the show is set but unfortunately everything else is simply sub-par. The story is nothing special and Apo and Waii never seemed to be the main couple. The acting is far from perfect although there is significant improvement towards the last few episodes. The acting is fine with comedic and playful scenes but it's the emotionally charged scenes that usually need work, for example Kan's outburst and crying into Apo's chest and the homophobic bullying scene - they were extraordinarily fake. The exceptions are probably Apo's goodbye with Waii, Fay and Waii's confrontation, and also the Coach's crying scene - all of them happen towards the end. I think most of the problem lies in the script and the direction - the entire show is very cringey most of the time. For example, the director uses very cliche ways to get their faces close together for that awkward (TM) stare of accidental desire. There are so many close ups featuring Waii and Apo's throats, swallowing saliva to convey nervousness or whatever. Waii and Apo's first "kiss" was super cringey (as were all other kisses). And then in an even more ridiculous fashion, he assaulted Apo (sexually) to find out if gay sex is better, or he was just repressed. Just WTF. It was never addressed afterwards. Truth be told, I fast forward many scenes because they were just that bad. While I liked the ending, the director deprived us of the final kiss between Apo and Waii. Why?

Most characters are extremely unlikable, at least in the first half of the show. Honestly I think Apo was the only reason I kept on. Waii was a selfish, unreasonable asshole with a grudge and mommy issues. But for all the build up and frustration we get from watching Waii being childish, Waii and Kan's make up scene was extremely lackluster. Pan is a disaster of a character, her bullying Fah wasn't funny or endearing. Wan was a complete bitch at the start. Fay was annoyingly sweet but at least her scenes are consistently good.

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I had heard about this series from comments on other series about how the actors from Waterboyy appeared. I finally decided to check out the series while resting from food poisoning. I want to start by saying this series is not a BL completely as it has several straight couples and unfortunately the BL couple is rarely shown. That being said, as far as a BL story I think it's one of the best. Everyone had natural development as the series progressed. The main couple went from a sligtly tense first meeting to eventually bonding and the main brute of the show (because honestly that's what Waii was) becomes a better person for being with Apo. All of the couples were like that, they brought out the better side of their counterpart.  I think what was most enjoyable was the way all the characters actually interacted. BL's tend to spend a lot of time on cute moments between couples but in this they actually had meaningful conversation. Waii would listen to Apo as he helped cool the other down and ultimately aided in mending the relationship between Waii and his father. Again that was an interesting storyline and what drew me in was the conflicts that were slowly revealed like Min and the new female coach, Min and Fah and Kluay. The dynamics were good as the friends who were meant to be supporting characters all stood out. To be honest, while I like Waii and Apo, I much preferred the scenes with the other club members which usually in BLs unless they too have a romance, the characters are there for comic relief. Put, Sung, and Kluay had interesting stories of their own. There was a classic girlfriend in the way but for once the reason she was around made sense. While this had a nice wrap up I wouldn't mind a second season or spin off just to tie up the stories for those three. All in all this was one of the best BLs out there and is easily above overrated series like Sotus.

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Could have been better than it was. I loved characters like Kluay, Fah and Apo. The story was messy and could have saved a lot of screentime if you shave many conflicts (like that one with coach Mai, so unnecesary). The couples didn't have the same screentime and it was like I wanted to see more of certain ones (Kluay and Achi was my favorite but we barely saw them). I liked Min but his story with Wan was messy and all that drama was unnecesary. I just find good stuff among bad writing. Performances were good but New... my boy playing Apo is a good actor. I love to watch his dramas (he has been in Sotus and a couple more). Overall the series is nice, has good moments but could have been told better.

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Sorry to all the BL dramas I've watched because I am #teamperaya and admit to being biased. The more BL/Y-series i watch the more I’m convinced there is no cuter couple than Krist and Singto (Arthit/Kongpop). SOTUS/SOTUS S were so well done. The kissing scenes !! Ugh the romance. Sorry, this is not a SOTUS review. Anyway haha, i felt like the show had some holes. I thought that maybe if i had watched the movie the plot would have flowed better, but reading other reviews a lot of people have felt the same and said the movie is unrelated. First time I’ve seen a lesbian character in a main role, but of course they make her end up with a boy. Waii and Apo are cute, but their kissing scenes left a lot to be desired. At least they kissed though. Even as THE main character New is so quiet and speaks very little. I’m starting to think that’s his actual personality. Overall entertaining. Can’t lie Coach Tee and Kan’s relationship made me uncomfortable, but I was happy with Waii's character development . Overall would recommend, but it's not going into my favorites.

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If Chemistry is your Thing Dont Watch

So there is not much to say, other than the rewatch value is almost zero. The series for me was a bore, whilst there might be a bias to this based on the fact that Earth and New are not my favourite BL actors. I still wanted to give it a try, but they're absolutely was no chemistry between them or most of the side couples. As a matter of fact, the only relationship i shipped (note i said relationship and not couple) were Klau and Achi. Klau and Achi were the sweetest things ever and that was majorly the only reason why i kept watching. The other characters for me was a meh and worst still some of the plots that i thought might have made it worth watching didn't happen. For instance, i was so looking forward to the Cinderella Lakorn and was utterly sad when it didn't happen after watching all the bore from episode one i finally had something i wanted to see and it didn't happen. Another was when they all went to Apo's place i was hoping for some fun amongst them or lengthy revelations and pretty exciting considering we had not had much and that again was a drawback.

Then we have Karn and Waii's dad, again another lack of chemistry there and this is something i have noted with Toptap's acting, he doesn't seem to gel well as a BL couple and i wonder why they keep trying to put him forward as one, maybe because he is beautiful to look at but he never seems to bring any chemistry to the screen either for me anyways.

For me i think the story was not bad, just that the acting and some of the cast were not just it for the role. i had no compassion for Wan and seemed to wish Min could be with someone else. I dont know maybe just me but the whole thing was just like wood in the mouth. You have a Nameng who likes Fah they push her through the entire episode to end up with Pan only for Pan to break-up with her 2 months down the line and end up with Fah. I just felt that was a waste of nameng's time and switch from wanting a guy to being forced to be with a girl and then going back to a guy.

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I was really into this show from the very start, especially because of Pan being a lesbian. Of course, when that changed, I was slightly apprehensive but I accepted it, since I guess some of the characters are bi/pan and I can't be mad at that since it's still gay af. :)

I really liked the main couples chemistry, although it seemed forced the first episode or two. I will say, there was that one scene, and for the first time watching a BL show, I understood why one person was pushing the other down. Usually, it's nonsensical to me and seems like a forced way to get us fujoshi's hearts racing, but this one wasn't like that. I was uncomfortable with Coach Tee and Kan at first, because that's hella inappropriate and like, yeah, but I really felt it SO MUCH when Waii lost his shit and was like 'how is it worth it to be with a man when it tears everything else apart?!' Damn, that was some good writing. That storyline was so complex and so good, honestly this show in general had really good characters and writing, especially when put up against other Thai BL shows that I have watched. I get off on emotionally mature and complex storylines almost as much as I do the boys doing the dirty so this was definitely a good one for me.

I also really liked Wan. Like, a lot. She wasn't typically pretty or vapid or controlling like you see with female characters in these shows. She was grumpy and weak and strong and vulnerable and honest and quick-witted and just a really well-written character. I like that she didn't take any of Min's shit and forced him to actually take a look at himself and be real.

The Pan and company storyline was extreme and I honestly couldn't vibe with it. I liked that we were getting some lesbian representation, but didn't necessarily like how it was handled. Really wish she would have stayed with her GF and that her and Fah would have just stayed friends. But whatever.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind Achi and Kluay getting a spin off, as I really liked their relationship even though apparently they still hadn't gotten together in the epilogue. Sounds fake, that was true love right there.

Fuck Coach Mai and all her bullshit.

Also, where tf does Apo even live? They could have put like ten minutes into establishing that better instead of just sticking them all into the coldest hotel they could find. Like in Make It Right 2. Like damn guys a picture on the wall would at least not have me distracted from the story. You know who lives places like that? Psychopaths. That's a psychopath's home, guys. That's all I can't think when you throw my well-written boys into these lifeless hotel rooms.

Overall, it was great. Very well-written. All the feels. Some serious detractors like lesbians not really being lesbians and some of the world's most unprofessional coaches, but all in all I really liked it.

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So when I first started this show I hadn't read any of the reviews, or the summary or anything. I purely watched it because it was one of the few BLs left which had Eng Subs uploaded officially (GMMTV Youtube Channel). Also because Earth was in it and I had seen him as Type in LBC (which is one of my favorite Thai BLs).

I was super excited when I realized there was a canonically lesbian character. One who wasn't being hit on by all the guys around her and being told that she if she tried them out she wouldn't be gay anymore. One who was part of the gang. Of course this sort of waned once the whole Fah/Pan storyline expanded. However, as someone who believes that sexuality is a societal driven construct, I cannot hold her falling for Fah against her. I do believe that people fall for people and not genders.

Min/Wan was the most boring storyline ever. Add to that Mai and I wanted to throw my computer against the wall.

Kluay/Achi - I was really invested in their story. I really wish they had developed this more and given them more screen time rather than doing the whole Mai arc (*barf*).

So one thing that was a bit confusing was Coach. He looked a bit young to have such an old son. But considering the ages of the actors, and considering that perhaps Coach was meant to be a few years older than Dom, and Waii was probably meant to be about the same age as, or perhaps a couple of years younger than Earth, I guess it's totally a plausible situation, since Dom ('76) and Earth ('94) are 18 years apart in age. Assuming Wai is 20-21 in 2017, he would have been born in 97-ish. Assuming Coach is as old as Dom that gives them an age difference of 21 years which is technically realistic for a parent-child. Or even if he's a couple of years older, it's a realistic age difference.

Coach/Kan - I know a lot of people were squicked by this. But I thought it was fine. I was more squicked when I saw the movie and there was 60-year-old playing the dad and lover of a 20-year-old. Which isn't unheard of, but that age difference was more shocking that the 20-22 at most 24 year age difference for Coach/Kan in "Waterboyy: the Series".... So the Coach/Kan kisses were awkward AF, but I think if they had been workshopped some more they could have been really good. I did like the what Coach/Kan relationship being an obstacle in Coach and Waii's relationship. It made sense. But at the same time I think many parents sacrifice their own happiness for their children, even fathers. I think Kan was a better example of a parent than Coach was, in some regards. I do believe that Waii's reluctance to accept the relationship came more from the fact that Kan was his age rather than the fact that Kan was a man. Especially since he so willingly fell into bed with Apo.

Waii and Kan - I think in a way Waii was also being protective of Kan, even though it came out wrong. I really liked Kan as a character. He was really mature and kind. He totally wasn't what I thought he would be. I kinda hated Waii when we got to know Kan more. I totally thought we were going to see Kan be a two-faced SoaB.

Waii/Fay - So with Waii's dad being in may/december same-sex relationship I didn't get what his conflict was. He didn't seem like he was genuinely into Fay until the moment where he's begging her not to leave him. Their relationship seemed so cold until that point, that it didn't make sense for him to beg that way. Like if you loved her so much why did you treat her that way all this time? Why were you fooling around with Apo on the side? This whole arc sort of cheapened Waii/Apo for me and diluted their storyline. There was literally no benefit to this conflict.

Waii/Apo - I loved their interactions when there was no Fay involved. I loved how Apo understood him and his family and tried to build the bridges that had been burned even if it meant losing the man he loved. Waii hurt him many times, but he always tried to help Waii when he could. He was the real team captain. Without him I don't think Waii could have become the leader he did.

Arm Weerayut Chansook - he is so beautiful. Why doesn't this man have his own lead roles yet? I have such a crush on him. He crushes all his bit parts. And he's gorgeous. Like I could look at him all day long.

The rest of the gang - with their pranks, banter, procrastination, what a bunch of lovable dudes.

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So I will start with a little disclaimer: I am probably biased when it comes to this drama a little bit as New is my absolute favourite actor, so I probably got a lil more enjoyment out of his scenes than the average person watching.

Overall I thought this was a really good drama, I haven't watched the movie but I really enjoyed this drama. I found it to be very slow in the beginning which was pretty discouraging but pushed through in hopes of it improving and boy am I glad I did! I really liked the chemistry between all the characters, not just romantically with the coupled but the friend groups as well, I thought were really was casted well.

I agree with many other reviews that I saw, it did not feel as though Waii and Apo were the main couple as they didn't get much screen time, especially in the beginning. Towards the end though they got a lot more scenes and this is where I really started to get into the drama as New and Earth did a phenomenal job portraying their characters, their connection had me hooked! I feel as though the show focused too much on Min and Wan, it almost felt as though they were the main couple, and honestly I did not click with their characters. In the first half of the show it seems to only focus on these 2 characters and I didn't think they needed to pay as much attention as they did to them.

The biggest thing I would've changed with the show was to see more of Kluay and Achi as they got ripped off, in my opinion, when it came to their storyline. I loved the chemistry between their characters and wanted to see more of them together. Also I will put a little note I was not pleased with what they did to Pan's character, she clearly said she was a lesbian and even said she didn't like men but in the end they had her end up with a man which I found very upsetting (I did end up skipping a lot of their scenes as I disagreed with this, so I could have missed her saying she was Bi or something).

Now, despite all the things I wasn't too happy with I did love the show, and will probably rewatch it again. This show had me go through all the emotions, I was angry, heartbroken, happy etc. I found that once it passed the slow parts and the drama seemed to really get going that it flowed really well, they had my attention and I was on the edge of my seat. I'm not gonna lie I did have to pause and take a breath a few times as I got way too into it and was very frustrated with the characters lol. I loved the plot part of the end, I thought it was very mature and realistic which you don't always get in dramas so it was a nice change. To conclude, what I think would of helped improve the show tremendously was if they didn't try to focus on so many "main character" storylines at the same time, as it got kind of boring trying to follow so much but also at times seemed all over the place, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama!

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Story: The series doesn’t even follow the movie except towards the beginning and end. The middle is just a jumble of things they wanted to happen squeezed in the series. It felt as though they had so much planned but realized they didn’t have the time, money, or episodes left to go through with it so they squeezed it all in there. . The group of extras in the first episode made that scene feel so awkward and empty. I am not a fan of the drama throughout the series it feels so unnecessary. What I did like was the cute awkward stares and stuff like that.

Acting/Cast: You can obviously tell that there was a lack of actors. Whether that be due to funding issues or them not being able to find any more actors (most likely funding). It felt like the whole project was done by high school students that didn’t plan things out well. Almost as though they made it up as they went along. The way the cameras cut from clip to clip is sometimes unprofessional and choppy. there are times when the make-up artists should do more than just face make-up to make things look more realistic In my opinion, the best way to judge someone’s acting is to know their personality in real life and see how different it is from their character. The way the characters developed over time was also very well done. Waii and Apo were so cute together. Also, if they portray the character the way he/she was meant to be and newwie and earth did just that. To the point where I thought they were a couple in real life. They were very comfortable with each other especially during the later episodes. Sadly i have to take of points because of the cast. The acting was fine its just the assorted issues with things that happened in the background that if fixed would have made this series so much better.

Music: I don't have as much so say for music except that i love it! The intro seems very well done! I really like it when the songs of the actors are used in the series. The times when the songs were played were on point which allowed me to feel the emotion of the scene. i think what really held this series together was the music. The songs were very catchy i just could not get enough of them!

Re-watch Value: Really low for me. I tried to re-watch it and not only did i not have the time but i also didn't have the will to re-watch it. A BL cut of this series would be 9/10 amazing considering those scenes and how good they were. But like i said the story wasn't the best ESPECIALLY considering the fact that this was based off the movie. i don't want to say some of the cast/crew ruined the story because that's not entirely true. But they did prevent this series from being as amazing as it could've been.

Overall watch this series if you are out of BL to watch thats rated more than a 7.

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