The Miracle of Teddy Bear (2022)

conflicted on this series

Overall: I'm fairly conflicted on the series as there are parts I really liked and parts I really did not like. Just know going in that this isn't a light and fluffy series (although it does have some of those moments) I'll bump it up to 7.5 if it gets an official international release.

Content Warnings: physical and emotional abuse, punches, manhandling, homophobia, attempted murder, murder, trauma, grief, mental illness, past character deaths, manipulation, body shaming, bullying, stalking, drugging, violence, voyeurism

What I Liked
- addressing serious issues like homophobia, there are some truly excellent conversations that occur
- I think the series is almost a cautionary tale of what happens when you don't accept your children for who they are, Nut was such a sweetie but then continued the cycle of abuse that he endured
- I was into the soap opera feel, I actually wanted more twists (Nueng isn't actually dead dun dun dun, Sib and his brother switched spots dun dun dun)
- I think the actors did a good job
- the cute/fluffy moments
- Gen's parents were great
- although the furniture animation was creepy, the talking furniture grew on me (and finally we found the Mrs. Left Slipper!!!)
- Song's dad character growth/apology
- the GL at the very end, though I wish it would have started sooner

Room For Improvement
- no amount of past trauma excuses Nut's behavior and few apologies don't make everything alright. Nut does the following: screams at his mom and Tofu several times, runs Tofu down, punches Tofu on more than 1 occasion, pulls both his mom and Tofu by the arm, kicks Tofu, kicks Tofu out of the house, treats Tofu like a servant, embarrasses Tofu in front of Nut's friend and friend's parents, drives like a maniac and makes Tofu throw up, uses Tofu to get back at his mom. Nut needs to go to therapy and anger management classes asap and not be in any romantic relationship. Oh, and Nut also sabotages his friend Gen's kind of relationship - because Nut wasn't a big enough a**hole already. In the final episode it says he is seeing a doctor for "emotional fatigue" is that a code word for "anger management problems", he was still yelling to the end and I didn't see character growth from him in this area.
- the side couple also annoyed me. It took Gen waaaayyyy too long to open up to Song.
- I was confused when they switched to the other plot line with Tarn in the beginning, I thought it was the script that Nut had written
- multiple cliche evil women who refuse to leave men alone who clearly don't love them
- several characters making truly dumb decisions
- it was odd that Nut and Tofu didn't actually have much physical affection shown once they were together, there were countless near kisses, I'd have been fine with occasional pecks on the cheek
- sudden/odd teacher redemption arc (did her son come out as gay and she changed her opinion from a few weeks/months ago?? ) This was too sudden/unexplained for me
- the mom made it sound like she caused her own mental illness and was blaming herself
- lack of consequences for several characters who did terrible things
- I don't know that I liked Nut's mom telling him everything, it felt like she was doing it to ease her guilty conscious instead of being helpful for Nut
- the whole ending with Tofu feels icky, I wasn't blindsided like another well known series, but he can see/hear everything and Nut doesn't know that...
- I was bored sometimes and mostly watched it at a faster speed

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Fantastic Change of Pace

I really enjoyed this show for the fantasy and dealing with the real topic of mental illness. It's different and a great change of pace from the traditional Thai BLs that are out there. It was great to get away from the typical University love story. Warning, though, it isn't lighthearted. There's a mystery revolving around a crime. There's physical and emotional abuse.
The ending is both sad and happy.
After reading some reviews, I think I may be the only one wanted the ending that occurred. I loved Tofu with Nut, but I still wanted Tofu to go back to being a teddy bear so that Nut could get back together with Tarn. I felt they were true soulmates and deserved to be together again.
I also wish that Nut had started going to therapy sooner. It would have been good to start seeing his change before Tofu went back to being a teddy bear. I also wish that the GL that was introduced in the end had started sooner. Prib deserved more time seen being loved.
All of that said, the show does have some minor things that people won't like or understand and some things will be resolved a little too easily, but overall, I give this show a 10 for being so different and telling a hard story. My rating is more than just an A for effort. This show truly deserves top numbers.

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the miracle of Tofu, was itself more meaningful and significant to me than his ending.

This was not just another BL drama on the relationship of a gay couple nor simply a story about a teddy bear who turned into a human. It also touched on first love, Alzheimer’s disease, explored the relationship between parent and child, past love and in them, trust, delusion, acceptance, jealousy, understanding, an encompassment of many complex emotions.

90 minutes each episode was, to be honest, hard to endure at first. Nevertheless, it started off interesting, apart from Nut’s mother getting delusional and Nut’s frequent outbursts of wrath. At episode 5-6, the story picked up and 90 minutes actually flew by with Tofu getting used to being human, Nut getting used to him in the house and gradually liking him. There were also sweet moments between Tofu and Nut and the talking objects and items in the house which only Tofu could communicate with were comical.

After 10 episodes or so, the drama started to feel ‘heavy’ when they explored Nut’s growing-up years with a soldier father who adamantly wanted him to be masculine and saw Nut’s homosexuality as fragile, while his mother seemed passive throughout, but was instead misunderstood as taking sides with his father in the eyes of Nut. This part also gave us flashbacks of Nut’s meeting with Tatarn (Nut’s first love) and them falling in love. It took empathy to understand the emotions of Nut and his mother, what they were going through and why they behaved the way they did. At that point in time, Tofu became a mediator between Nut’s mum and Nut.

At around episode 12 onwards, just after the mother and son saga died down, we were faced with another issue – the cause of Tatarn’s accident and the connection with Tofu’s turning into a human being.

The last 5 or 6 episodes, there were a lot of complex emotions involved and things were not said explicitly, I had to try to understand why the character behaved the way he/she did and I would say there was depth and substance in the entire story where social issues in Thailand were touched on and it was not just a mere fantasy story about a teddy bear who became alive.

However, for me, the execution in these last 5 or 6 episodes was excruciatingly slow. Every movement became slow, even the way the characters talked. There were lots of sitting down (on the bench) talking and the content of the conversations, as far as I saw, did not mean much and did not move the story forward much. I struggled to continue watching at this point in time, bearing in mind that it was 90 minutes per episode, and as I inched forward, I felt unbelievably glad that I was near the end.

One of the reasons I continued watching though was definitely because I was waiting for a revelation about why and how Tofu miraculously became human from a teddy bear and what would become of him in the end.

Not revealing any spoilers, the ending regarding Tofu might not have been the best, but I could accept it and I thought it was befitting of the drama title, ‘The miracle of teddy bear’ and miracle it was indeed.

Though I could not quite accept the ending regarding Nut and Tatarn, this was before I read the comment section of the drama in MDL, after reading comments posted by a viewer on what the scriptwriter or novel-writer said, I could appreciate a little of the ending of Nut and Tatarn better, because I saw Tatarn’s heartfelt intentions. This was also perhaps the best ending for Nut, considering Tofu’s ending. I also understood from the comment page that lots of editing were made to the last episode, so some explanations were never made clearly, but to me this was editing issue and nothing to do with the story, of course it did affect the flow and logic of the ending, but it did not take away the uniqueness of the story for me.

ACTING

Overall, teddy bear-turned-human, Tofu acted by In Sarin, was adorable and goofy. He was convincing enough to make us believe he was a teddy bear-turned-human: new to the human world, innocent and naïve. I personally liked his narration to the viewers as well. It definitely brought viewers closer to him as a result.

As for the other male lead, Nut (Tofu’s love interest and ‘owner’ when he was a teddy bear) acted by Job, I was a little disturbed by his behavior at first – constant shouting at his mother, always getting sensitive and agitated easily, but as I watched on, I began to understand the reasons behind his behavior, it was a realistic portrayal as a result of the trauma he had gone through during his youth, though to be honest, I still found his acting a little awkward at times, not sure if this was what his character required him to be or his acting was not natural enough, I needed to see more of him in other dramas before I could decide.

The chemistry between Tofu and Nut was well, not particularly exceptional and off the charts to me, but natural enough as both friends and lovers.

If I were to nitpick, I would say that I did find the acting of some (definitely not all, most of the support leads are good) of the support leads a little lacking or unnatural sometimes especially in their immediate reactions to something that happened and I was quite sure it had nothing to do with the Thai culture after watching quite a few Thai dramas.

OST

I liked the opening song of the drama. It was melodious, cheerful and bright. The ending song was just so-so, in fact it sounded quite similar to many BL OSTs. My all-time favourite, however, was the song played during the sad scenes, Tee Thanapon - Waiting For You.

MY VERDICT

Basically, my only gripe of this drama was the slow execution in the last 5 or 6 episodes. I personally found the story unique because I have never watched a drama in which a teddy bear could turn miraculously into such an absolutely lovable human and I really liked In Sarin’s portrayal of Tofu. It was very natural and believable.

Yes, the ending was not the most ideal, but I looked at it from a different perspective, considering the analogy, ‘the journey is as important if not more important than the destination itself’, the miracle of Tofu, the teddy bear-turned-human – the fact that he had once existed and the impact he made on the people around him - was itself more meaningful and significant to me than his ending.

I would recommend this drama if you are looking for something not just focused on BL, but also touched on family, relationships and a little on fantasy, but do take note that the ending may not be the most ideal for you.

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Original take, needs a better title!

Wow. This is one of the most refreshing and engaging bl's I've seen. It's built up from multiple themes, from fluffy romance to mystical fantasy to political engagement and it manages to integrate it all into a comprehensive compelling story. It moves, thrills and excites. It could have used a better title though, as this was not what I expected from it at all. If you are looking for just fluff and romance, this one's not for you. If you like more elaborate storytelling (without the plot holes!) you should definitely give this a go. I did not like the lively furniture though, thought that a bit cringey. The ending reminded me of epic stories in opera's for example. Standing ovation here. Well done!

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A brand new and wholesome experience on BL universe

It's weird, I have to many things to say about this series, but words can express how good this series was... If I just say that it's a masterpiece, it would be enough? I think that's fair enough, but I even say more: this is the best BL story I have ever watched ?? I you are looking for a BL story with a good and deep plot, because you are bored of those cliché stories filled with shallowness, this is your series... It's hell entertaining, but its purpose it's not only to get you entertained ??‍♂️

«A love story might be an illness without any miracle» ?

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The one i really looked forward too watching each week!

I have watched a butt load of Thai BL dramas and this one really sticks out for me. The storyline itself is so unique that i fell in love with it from the first episode. Each actor/actress was picked perfectly imo, a very talented bunch of people. None of the crying scenes seemed forced or edited (eye drops city) the emotions of each character were very well acted, especially In, Job and Um
As someone that works in a care home with people who suffer with dementia, this story really hit home. The confusion, seeing things that arent there and the strain that this illness has on the patient and the family were really captured well. The scene where Na wandered off and suddenly realised she was lost and scared, really does depict the vulnerable side of this illness. And as someone that sees this everyday, my heart sank for her.
The only part of this series that i am a little disappointed with (and its only a tiny bit of disappointment i might add) is that Nut and Tofu didn't end up happy & human together, even though i knew it would end up this way it still hurt alot. I am however greatful to the director/writer that they brought Tofu back as a bear and even made Nut aware of that.
Like i said i have watched a lot of BL dramas over the years and this one really has stuck out for me.
All in all i give this 9/10...i loved it!

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The best Thai BL of 2022 so far

I think this series is being underrated, seriously, so far is the best Thai drama this year. Is a fantasy and drama, very well conduced.
Anytime I see Um Apasiri in a cast, I'll surely go for it, she's an amazing actress, here she shows all her skills as a superb dramatic actress, as good as many overvalued Hollywood star. Not just her, all the cast is absolutely amazing, emotion is on point, specially pointing In and Job, but I'm also happy to see how much Tee has improved his skills since 2Moons.
Screenplay is dense, complex, there's so much humanity and passion, I haven't read the novel but screenwriter did a good job adapting it, isn't easy adapting any novel into a series or movie, there's always comparisons, but here there's so many different emotions to feel and that was perfectly done. Besides the fantasy element that may sound a bit weird at first, is genuinely well done.
Job is so looks so freaking alike my best friend and Nut's personality, the same, same kind f traumas, the show, besides being a fantasy, has so much reality and so many relatable stuff. I'm in love with the characters, specially Taohu, Na, Nat, and Tarn.
OST is also great, maybe isn't as epic as some others series, like I Told Sunset About You, but it fits perfectly, sound effects also had good time and suspense scenes let it clear.
I'm honestly okay with all the romantic lighthearted series Thailand usually does when it comes to BLs, but this one has way more than just a high-school extra sweet love, which I love, don't get me wrong, but it has also social issues, health and mental health awareness. Is a brilliant job of everyone, very deep and meaningful show.
I honestly hope they won every prize this year, is more than deserved. This series can definitely leave a mark on everyone's heart!
For those who haven't seen that, just open your hearts and go for it.

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Opposite poles meet up with fantasy becoming the most hurtful reality

One of the best BL series I've watched to date, and I don't blame people being hurt at the end coz it's truly heartbreaking. Our main protagonist suffered so much until the end just to taste a glimpse of happiness being a human can have. Not to mention, Tofu is a lost but also well deserving soul for a love that Nut happens to purely gave into him (Both In & Job have a fantastic job portraying the characters, I love them both!). And yet the ending told us that they dont deserve each other, its a shame. At present, deep into my heart, I believe that Nut loves Tofu more than Tharn now. It was so evident at Ep 15. A gift, the collection of memories and the decision made at a hospital call was a solid proof.

Someone should have not taken it too lightly that it end up just what it should be, Nut ended with Tharn and Tofu coming back to a teddy bear. It wasnt that easy given all the circumstances and the feelings our main characters invested in. Its a fantasy and we get it, but it indirectly telling us that something that we dreamt of, cant be our own reality despite how eager we are to have it or how invested we are for that truthful feeling. Its a harsh, awful situation. It has a wonderful built up story but it fails to give justice on this idea of achievable dream. Worst, it happens when we actually gave it our all. Ultimately, it wasnt and will never be just "coz it should be".

Despite all the painful parts though, the writer didnt disappoint in handling various issues like mental health, social and family issues as well. It was handled carefully and discussed truthfully (Mrs Na, Gen and Song plays an important roles on this matter and they nailed it!) . And it is such a hard task to take over, I salute for taking the enormous risk of discussing them simultaneously. The correlation of this issues where binded flawlessly and I'm very happy on how it turned out to be.

In conclusion, it was heart wrenching at the end especially when Nut sings his heart out for Tofu on his burial (that makes me cry :'( a thousand fold). But given the journey it took with Nut and Tofu to love each other unconditionally, makes my heart overjoyed with memories. And its something Id like to stay with me forever instead.

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A Rollercoaster of Emotions for Everyone, including our Beautiful Selfless TOFU!

If you’re looking to get into The Miracle of Teddy Bear, please do noted this is a Lakorn with BL elements. So it’s more about the journey than the endgame. So I’m going to come out and say it right out, it has a rather bittersweet (or sad/happy) ending depending on how you look at it. Because Tofu reverts back to being a teddy bear, and Nut eventually chooses to move on with Than.

For me, while I enjoy this series very much, and it breaks my heart that Tofu goes back to being a teddy, the last couple of eps were rushed so it didn’t tie up all the loose ends quite as nicely. So they were so disjointed plots, things happening too fast (Nut moving on), things not explained enough. I think partly this is due to storytelling and the deal the show creators had with Netflix. Maybe. I’m not too sure but this series was cut down so maybe that might be why it felt so rushed (the ending).

But with that being set aside, they do touch base with a lot of great stuff, such as LGBTQ+ issues, generation gap, mental health illness, abusive behavior, etc. And they do try to craft these issues in a realistic way. So that’s a plus in my book.

However, for any new viewers, this show can be very dramatic. And Nut’s anger can also seem very excessive, and because Tofu is such an innocent person (he really is learning how to navigate through the stages of being human) he really doesn’t question. Gen, Nut’s friend, does call him out on his behavior at times. So if there’s off-putting, you won’t like this show, because Nut does yell at his mom, and even slaps Tofu a few times (he’s such a broken person, he doesn’t know how to control himself till later on).

I’d love to touch base with everything else, but I sadly cannot. But Song and Gen’s relationship is very cute. Saen and Jan are two hurt individuals who needed to go to therapy than do all the things they went. Na is a gem but she also created the life she lived (partly by not standing up for herself) - this is the show’s message I think. Than is an angel, I guess, never really connected with him. Love him but felt like they only utilize his character as a story device. Prim is alright but a little annoying at the beginning. And Tofu, I love, with all my heart.

Just don’t expect this story to have a happy ending (already spoiled that for you, sorry) for us, as the viewers, depending on our viewing experiences. Because for Tofu, he was okay with turning back to a teddy for Nut’s happiness. And Nut was able to heal and move on (rather a little fast because the ending was rushed, and they didn’t clarify the time jump well enough, but if it was months, that also seems a little fast, but that’s okay).

So if you’d like to watch it, watch it, and see what you think. You might like it. You might not. Because it’s not a light-hearted drama and it’s filled with so many hard topics, and even some violent outbursts, and the ending might not be up to your liking, so if this is the case, it’s okay not to watch. I’m sure you would be able to find the cute clips/gifs on Nut/Tofu and that can be your way of watching this. I try to give an unbiased review (and I wrote the things I felt would have impacted me from starting/not starting a new show) so I hope this helps a little!

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Good, But Too Long to Binge

This was a really good series with some really good (and pretty) actors with some good story (aside from the talking furniture..). This is one of those series that you have to watch while it's airing because it's incredibly too long to binge. Had I watched this during its airing, then I think I would've appreciated this series more, but most of the time, I was ready for it to be over.

Let's Dive In.

TMOTB is another wacky plot about a human falling in love with -- a tangible object -- a teddy bear-turn-human. This concept was way beyond me, I was sure it wasn't going to be good, but -- in reality, it's actually really well thought out, and with In's (Tofu's) acting, it's believable that he's a human who knows nothing about basic human things (until later in the series). It also worked out for them because they didn't just have him be some teddy bear, he was a bear in a human's body who had bad implications for Nut and an even sadder tale for Song and his father. Like it's really good.

I shipped Tathan and Nut as soon as we get a glimpse into Nut's backstory. I love first-love stories. And Tathan was such a genuine person, with even more genuine intentions. Their kiss was -- incredible. I'm glad they're end game, which is why my score for this series is a bit higher because I would've been upset had Nut and Tofu stayed together. He's a teddy bear, it just wasn't going to work (for obvious reasons)

I think Tofu and Nut were cute, but something in me didn't care much for them. His death was sad, just because seeing Nut so distraught was hard (Job's acting is superb). But in the end, I couldn't be happier about the ending. he's still there (just in tangible object mode) and Nut still gets to be happy with his first love (who is played by Judo who's the prettiest man I've ever seen and I can't wait for his series with Fluke from UWMA).

I also mostly watched because the guy with the glasses was so freaking cute, playing alongside Tee (Song). They were a good addition to the show, and I liked how their plot played along.

I won't lie though, I skipped through a lot of TMOTB, like a lot. So the mother's plot is a little wonky for me, along with the girl with the curly hair (who seems to have a crush on a woman by the end). But I get the gist of most of the other plots, so it's fine. But this was just really really long. They could've cut out a lot to keep it mid-length (and given the rest of the time to Korea/Japan). So most of the episodes past episode 8 were lightly skimmed through.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - It's complex, it's deep, it has a nice flow, and all conflicts are resolved. It's good, but it's just too much and too long.

Acting: 9/10 - Job can ACT for real. In was good too, but I think Job just surpasses what he has. The others do an excellent job too.

Music: 6/10 - I didn't pay attention to it, but it wasn't distracting so good!

Recommendation Value: 5.5/10 - I would've recommended this higher had it been airing, but I can only slightly recommend this while it's over because it's a lot to sit through. Unless you're patient and can watch an episode per day, then go for it, but I like to finish a series (when I'm binging) in at least less than a week. But the story is good, it's compelling and it was an okay watch (only okay because, again, it's too long).

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