A masterpiece
Just rewatched the ITSAYverse to remind myself of how great this series is and I remain beyond impressed.This series is thoroughly great. Any and everything I can point to stands head and shoulders above other series.
The story is simple but effective. And there are brief deeply queer subplots about gender and homophobia which really bring extra depth to the characters and this story.
The acting is fantastic. Yes, the crying is melodramatic and for me it reminds me of being Xteen and melodramatic and ugly crying about whoever was causing me torment.
The music is beautiful and used and remixed and instrumentalized very well and effectively. And rewatching the series, you can pick up so many good background details or focus on the other protagonist.
All in all, this is a top tier series and I'm honestly glad that something like this exists and is such a great queer story.
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A Must Watch Series
Honestly speaking, after I watched the trailer my thinking was "okay, it's a so-so, but since the cinematography is good I'll give it a try". So when the first episode was released, I was still waiting for the reviews for those who have watched the episode before I'll watch it myself. After reading some reviews it got me interested. And viola! I got hooked with the story and the actors' superb skills. I just loved it! I already watched 100+ BL series but this is my first time writing my review, because they deserved it. And one thing I could say, once you'll start watching it, you will crave for more. I can't wait for the part 2. This series deserves all the recognition. Kudos to the team esp. the writer, director, actors, and such. Love from Philippines. ❣️Was this review helpful to you?
genuinely good!!
This is probably the best LGBTQ+ show I’ve ever seen. (The bar is very low tho)There is no fetishization or homophobia. A genuinely good LGBTQ+ film. (in a homosexual’s opinion)
I didn’t really care about the university plot in the end, it wasn’t very interesting in my opinion. i just wanted to see the couple more
But their relationship is so interesting and made me cry because (once again) it’s a very realistic gay relationship. So genuine and made for gay people.
I wish i could see them more though and I wish their ending was more happy and “everlasting love” but their relationship was a little TOO realistic to gay relationships... Doesn’t end perfectly or was never really perfect.
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A masterpiece!
The first episode is a beginning of a ambivalent related between two main characters and hit me with a meaningful massage and dialogue with a stunning colored grading Phuket old town (Thailand most famous island) scene .The second episode still did a fantastic job they’re delivered me a cute dialogue that we can related when we think about our childhood friends
I really recommend this to anyone who has eye to watch
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This review may contain spoilers
Nhe I don't like it
When I first watched I thought it was really good, now that I think of it, it's not that good. It's just one deceiving the other. I get that it was supposed to show how hard it can be for a person to accept themselves when they're in the LGBTQ+ community, but jesus Christ where's the fucking communication? If I was Oh-aew I'd NEVER go back to Teh, specially after the scene where they were pretty much almost fucking and Teh just got out of the room they were in. I honestly think Teh is kinda toxic.Was this review helpful to you?
Totally Lovely ...
This series, as a whole, is totally lovely and awesome, and each episode is an individual of its own. The plot, the cinematography and production, the casting, the symbolism and everything about it just you in awe of how well thought out and well put this series is.The series feels like five individual yet connected movies. The production of this series is no joke. The plot is accompanied with aesthetically pleasing scenes. From the color tones of the series, to the way the camera pans in and out on scenes, to the way how the shooting locations complement the plot, the series is giving us movie-quality production. There were a lot of scenes where no words were spoken and the camera is just focused on the expressions of their faces yet you would be missing a lot if you don't get to see those. The more they don't say anything, the more you get what they're feeling.
My only with this series, was that I did find the episodes to long, and at times they did kind of drag on. but either that this was really good.
And the characters are named oh and teh ,they are just doing so good and there are some intimate moments but that are worth for that part .
Overall: it may not be the cup of tea of others, but it's definitely a well worth watch.
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The highest quality BL I have ever seen (by far)
This show was actually so incredibly good. The cinematography was absolutely breathtaking, the music was fantastic, and the story was painfully realistic, This is the most I've cried watching a show for a very very long time. It drove me to almost text my ex for the first time in like 6 months!!I felt that this show reminded me a LOT of "call me by your name", which was my absolute favorite movie for a long time.
To call it a romance would be a stretch, so I see why people expecting something cute and wholesome would be disappointed. It is truly a coming-of-age show.
The acting from all of the characters was great. They didn't ignore details like small expressions and longing looks. Something that sets it apart from other Thai BLs is that the intimate scenes were truly made for the characters. It's like you can tell that they weren't made to turn on the people watching, but to help the characters explore their sexuality. It makes more sense when you watch it lol.
I don't know much about cinematography and stuff like that, but I can tell this filming was absolutely top notch. Looking forward to watching season two!!
Perhaps the reason I loved this so much was because of my circumstances. I watched it on vacation in Mallorca, the summer after my last year of high school, around 5 or 6 months since leaving my first love.
Even if I was watching this another time or if I was another person, I think I would still love it.
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Full stars
This show i believe deserves everything good. The way the team behind did their research properly and built such amazing and complex characters that anyone watching would buy completely. What i love most of all is how you want to hate and love certain characters but end up understanding the most, as they are simply just human. There was not a single character or moment of this show that i didn’t like and some scenes were artistically very beautiful. I’ve been recommending this show to anyone left and right, even people that usually stick to their usual american soapies.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Desire, jealousy/envy, unspoken words, touchstarving, confusion, acceptance.
Back in 2021, I was really confused about everything in this show (ngl). Still, I was able to like and feel a lot of things while watching it. I watched it like anything else and moved on, until this year (2023/2024) when I decided to rewatch the show. Now, I can relate a lot to the characters; the restrained desire is something that happens in almost all teenage love, especially when you don't really know yourself anymore."What if he likes me? I really like them?
" What would happen if we stayed together?"
The physical touch needing. At the same time, Teh wants; he's so confused about his feelings and thinking a lot of things. He's scared and worried because he's never felt this way before. He doesn't say anything because, in the end, he doesn't even know. The journey is kinda about them trying to figure out themselves (totally normal for young people). But these feelings end up hurting people around him too. "Confusing people ends up hurting amazing people," that phrase perfectly matches. Oh Aew is secure about himself and loved him with all his heart; both did the only thing is that Teh didn't want to accept. I got so happy at the end, it's perfect for all they went through. Teh's character grew so much, all he wanted was to not disappoint his mother. A lot of pressure was put on him due to his brother and in the end he handled it very well. I think what really helped him was opening up. This way, he could understand himself better.
"We are so strong." - Oh Aew
The actors portrayed the characters so well. Even though they were young, they did a really great job. We can feel everything they want to express. And the BGM helps a lot too. I LOVED the OST; it's hard for me to pay attention to BGM, but this one perfectly matches the series. It's beautiful; everything in here is beautiful. This is my 2nd time rewatching, but I feel I could go for more 2. We can see how hard everyone worked on this show, the whole team. They managed to pull everything together in a magnificent way. I can't say more.
The way the scenes were put together, the silent moments, the melancholic cinematography, omg.
Such a simple story came out in such an interesting and profound way.
ALSO, TARN, BAS, AND HOON, YOU ARE THE BEST CHARACTERS. Especially Bas and Tarn; everything they went through because of Teh, and they are still the sweetest people on this show.
The underwater scene. The conversation they had when they were floating symbolizes a lot of things (at least this was my interpretation).
"I love when the seawater touches my back; I feel like something is holding me up." - Teh
"But you need to hold your breath all the way with this posture; sometimes it gets uncomfortable." - Oh Aew
For me, this means the feelings that Teh suppresses when they are "above the earth," when everyone is seeing and expecting something from him. And then the next dialogue happens.
"And when I don't want to control anything, I release my breath and let myself sink." - Oh Aew
At that time, they both go underwater and simply let themselves feel each other. The place where they don't control anything, where they don't care about anything. The place where Teh lets himself go completely, and everything he feels comes out.
There are a lot of other scenes like this too; I feel like everything has meanings, and we can't catch up with all of them in just one viewing. I identify with Teh lol, both with touch starvation and the way he suppresses his feelings.
Now it's time to watch I Promise You The Moon!!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
The Perfect Coming Out Love Story Does Not Exis- Well It Does
I have so many things to write about this series. So many that I know I can't complete if I start ranting.So I will just keep it short.
First of all, exceptional script, perfect acting, phenomenal music, top notch cinematography. I loved the symbolism of hibiscus flower.
I loved how there is jealousy but there is no ill feeling. The is heartbreak but there is very mature ways of dealing with it. There is good communication. There is very well written female character arc. There is genuine care between friends. There is the best supportive big brother everyone deserves.
Let's talk about the actors. PP Krit and Billkin. Hats off boys. The chemistry, the soft glances, the smirks, the hint of jealousy, the rivalry, so so perfect. I have watched a few rivals/friends to lovers dramas, but the sublime calmness in each of their actions were brilliantly portrayed.
There is visceral reaction of pain, there is confusion, fear of judgement, there is everything that we can completely relate to. The characters are not something out of showbiz but they are like us, normal people. The characters are humane.
There are missing opportunities, some angry miscommunication but at the end of all requited love.
Even the title of the series is so poetic. The story flows like river along with the plot and the characters.
This series will be among my top 10. I am forever indebted to the whole for making this series, a true creative gift.
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This review may contain spoilers
What Do I Say That Others Haven't Already?
It's taken me quite awhile to gather my thoughts about this show to be able to write a coherent review. I had to have time to let go of some of the remembrance of my own coming out and what my feelings were like. The pain was too real watching this unfold on the screen. So now that I've had several weeks put behind me here we go.The story is fairly straight forward and rather mundane (barring Teh's audition in the beginning) in the beginning that it really set the stage for what builds up to the relationship between Teh and Oh-aew later on in the series. This isn't so much an enemies to lovers story as it's a story of best friends falling out and coming back together and then falling in love on a rollercoaster ride of emotions faced by so many gay youth but especially gay youth growing up in a conservative society such as Thailand.
The strength of this series lies not so much in the story itself but in how it's told through the two actors and their relationship to the roles and to each other. Billkin in particular in his portrayal of Teh shows the depth of anguish coming to terms with who you are and who you love when it's outside of who you thought you were.
PP as On-aew on the other hand broke me. He knew who he was and knew who he loved. He was willing to be out for that love but wasn't given the same in return. The rejection he kept having to endure over and over again when he reached a hand out was so heartbreaking it was almost too painful to watch. But I felt like stopping would have been a disservice to the actor and the character he was portraying. So I continued on and I'm glad I did.
The end result of this series was a healing of sort for both characters. On-aew was able to heal the rejection he was feeling and was able to feel loved. And Teh was able to heal the fear he was feeling and was able to accept On-aew's love and to give his freely in return.
This was not an easy story to watch. A lot of painful memories were brought up for me afterwards and I spent a lot of time talking to my best friend as we both went through similar things when we went to school together (he as a gay man and me as a queer woman). That talk and this series were both healing for me as well. I recommend that if you are a gay individual that you have a support system in place when facing these things because they can be really difficult. And if you choose to watch this beautiful series please make sure to treat yourself and your experiences kindly.
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Beautiful production of an angsty teenage drama
Production was top notch, as well as soundtracks. Their chemistry was great, as well as acting, But I had to deduct 2 points for Teh's ugly crying. Ugly crying could be powerful if used once or twice only when it's appropriate. But for the last half of the series Teh broke into weeping too many times - I stopped empathizing with him, it was just downright cringy. Another thing that irritated me the most was his mother's lack of tact and acting in general, but it's a good thing she got so little screen time. I loved the show but I'd probably never rewatch it, because last 2 episodes were quite frustrating to be honest.On a side note, I was quite surprised by how well Tam's character was written - bls rarely build up a thought through female support character, her acting seemed so authentic. But the most impressive part was production - every scene was just so beautiful, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
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