The Yearbook (2021)

Amazing series of true love and old memories. Wonderful story, beautifully acted and excellent OSTs!

STORY

One of the most beautiful and relatable stories I have seen in countless series I have watched over the years. It is a story that can truly touch deep inside one’s heart, especially all of us who have that special person in our hearts, and many of us can relate to that. This is a story that is both feels real and down to earth, at the same time, enriching and fulfilling, tear-jerking and yet making you feel wholesome, all at once.

Not all story are lovey dovey and blissful all the time. This story showed us that many times, love can be and will be tested by trials and challenges. However, if we believe in true love, as Phob and Nut each did, then everything is possible.

Someone like Phob who had felt like he lost everything when he heard of his cancer diagnosis, clung on to life and eventually stayed on, thanks to this love and his dedication to Nut. He was brave enough eventually to make the life-changing decision because of that love, that losing his arm is in the end better than losing his life and make Nut lose everything. And they can in the end, achieve their dreams together (in a way).

If this isn’t a beautiful story, then I seriously do not know what else is.

(Additional Note: There are many great life lessons contained within the story and the whole series, and this can serve as a beautiful inspiration to many others out there suffering similar problems)

ACTING/CAST

One of the other great strength of this series. A story cannot achieve its full potential without great actors, and the main leads, Man and Title have done way beyond the expectations as those who are fresh and new to the industry. The way they acted and showed their emotion, and leading us through the story of Phob and Nut were beyond amazing. You totally almost couldn't tell that they have not starred in any series or productions before.

The dedication showed by the entire team was also amazing, the amount of efforts they put, from the director, the famous Mean, to the main leads, Man and Title, the side couple actors, Tonnam and Get, and to all the others who helped to make this masterpiece come to life. I can totally feel their enthusiasm and sincerity, their desire to bring this story to life. Despite the handicaps of not being a major series produced by giants in the industry like GMM and Studio Wabi Sabi among others, The Yearbook proved to have excelled beyond any expectations.

The production team also did a very wonderful job in transforming Man and Title into the younger versions of Phob and Nut respectively. The contrast between their older and younger version were obvious, not only in terms of their haircut, make-up and other things, but also, subtly, in their behaviour and voice pitch as well (You may have noticed that Title lowered his pitch a bit in portraying Nut's older self.)

(Note: The commentaries by the actors at the end of each episode are great and refreshing extension of the story, done in a great way to help the viewers to understand the story better. Not only that the actors are great in acting, but they also project a very friendly and sincere, personable image too. I personally enjoy seeing them in person more than many other BL series and other drama series' superstars out there.)

MUSIC

Yet another great strength of this series, as very few series can claim to have not just one but FIVE excellent OSTs, mostly by DRG (Dragon), with two especially made for this series (Old Pic and the finale episode song). I really love all of them, the melody and the great lyrics. Not only that they were very related to the story, but the timing of their inclusion in the scenes were phenomenal, and for most of the time, served very well in heightening the emotions conveyed in the scenes.

The music were very prominent throughout the eight episodes of the series, and I am amazed at the amount of effort put in order to seamlessly include them through the many scenes and flashbacks throughout the entire story. These hidden gems of talents enrich the story, the acting and the production even further. Very well thought, made and used in this series.

REWATCH VALUE

This series certainly deserves multiple rewatching, as the flow of the story can surprisingly be addictive, considering how they focus a lot on the theme of 'memories'. While some may find the use of flashbacks to be excessive, yet, in reality, in people who love, our most beautiful memories often always stays in our mind, being replayed over and over again. And that is how this series keeps many of us on our toes, as each flashbacks and plot continue to reveal gradually, layer by layer, the truth behind the whole story.

This series has been very successful in leading us through a roller coaster of emotions that is great and yet not excessively depressing or contrasting, which certainly can make many of us to continue rewatching the story again and again without so much being bored. The story really felt alive and real, and we may really feel as if we are part of their story. The flashdrive confession scene by Phob to Nut in Episode 7 is one of the best scenes I have seen, and personally I have watched that episode many times, and particularly that confession scene.

OVERALL

Very highly recommended series, and I hope this series will get more recognition for its great quality and the dedication with which its producers and team have put their heart and soul into making. Be part of the true love story between Phob and Nut, of two best friends turned real lovers, who discovered true love through trials and challenges, through years of separation and misunderstanding, overcoming even their greatest fears, and at the same time, inspiring others who are struggling with similar problems.

Looking forward and hoping for a continuation of this series in a potential sequel as shown in the final episode.

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BE READY FOR SOME TEARS

The story is simple: two HS best friends that grew together, developing more than friendship. One had to move out and came back one day. It might sound typical, but what comes next set this series apart from the others.

The story shows how memories reconnect and how reconnection answers questions left unanswered. I like how the story was mostly told in the perspective of Nut (Title) to the point that Phob (Man) was almost vague to me. But I was sure he was really up with something, and he is. The later parts of the story was then told in his perspective. And that gave so much more meaning to the story. It was like at one end of the bridge, it wasn't clear and all that, but when Phob began to tell what really happened, it was like crossing the bridge to the other side and see the entire journey and how the two ends were connected – and always have been.

Flashbacks & Retelling: I am not going to lie; the series used a lot of same scenes (to the point that they were redundant a times) But they were arranged in a way that you can still follow the storyline, while getting more of it. Flashbacks, different perspectives, scenes in a different angle and view: all contributed to the overall beauty of the series. I just felt there was a need to fast forward during the time when they play the same scenes a bit too long (like I know this happened to the other character, now we can move on) but that did not happen too much because I didn't feel bored at all, all throughout the series. This device used was what the story is all about, getting the other side of the story and it all makes sense, trust me. It’s wonderfully done.
Actors: Considering the first time of Man and Title in acting, I would say they did a pretty good job. Although there were some points I felt like they were forcing tears (it happens, actors have to fake all sorts of emotions) but at times it became obvious that the dramatic scene didn't feel on point. But again, it was just a few times. The leads have great potential. And I am looking forward to more from them.

Filmography: Hands down, it’s fantastic! The scenery that the cameras catch, the setting, the overall feels are all amazing. It kind of reminds me of I Told Sunset About You. I like the sad mood, mixed with nostalgic feelings. That's how I felt, and it matched the story. The story is set early 2000s, and everything was on point, including old computers, payphones, mobile phones, the outfits. They really maintained the overall mood.

Characters: Actors' chemistry is good. Like I've said, there are potentials in them individually and also as a couple. I have to say that the way they portrayed their characters are exactly how it should be: one outgoing carefree boy, and one who’s driven and a bit more serious. The series also doesn't have unnecessary characters. The brother (Tonman) and the friend (Get) as well as the Doctors Puen and Sarut (Mean, the director himself) were all fine additions to the series.

Comedy: Although the series portrays sad feels in itself, there were touches of comedy (just a little bit) which was kind of refreshing.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
If you want to watch feel-good BL series, this is not it. I suggest you go for Oxygen, My Engineer, 2gether, the ones that are more popular. This series don’t have a lot of kissing scenes and cheesy moments. What you’ll get is some of those, plus a lot of drama, a lot lessons, a lot of depth. There’s a lot of scenes the characters were just eye-to-eye and it screams many kinds of emotion, not just pain. There were so many tears, not because it’s too painful, but because you begin to realize the joy of finding the answers, and the deep love between the characters.

This series doesn’t involve character confusion (typical of a BL series where one doesn’t accept that he likes men) This series talks more about the journey, the pains of telling the other side of the story which never got told in the first place, the struggles way too difficult but are possible, dreams and hopes we want to keep holding on to.

The series personally taught me that young love can be real, that love can teach us to do what we thought would be impossible for us. Phob and Nut taught me that real love gives hope, that love gives us no assurance, but togetherness shall be our security.

Light BLs are good, but I’m hoping we get more stories like this. It’s good to reflect on the realities of life. This series has that depth. Please watch it.

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A Profoundly Moving Story

An intensely human story that feels real and quite genuine. It is dark and a bit brooding but so character driven that you do not mind its plaintiveness. It is a tale of young love that is deep in its core but goes unrecognized and almost missed. It says more with less words and shows love in subtle acts of kindness. A beautiful and touching series with a significant twist to its ending that left me shattered and less hopeful. It has some fine acting even by actors that are new. They never overplay their roles.
To read my full review, please go to BLBliss.com.

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DISAPPOINTING END OF THIS SERIES

I was a big fan of this series. Very moved by the story, crying my share.... until the two last episodes. It would have been the perfect BL drama, smart, credible, with a strong love story carried by excellent actors. B1 is so cute and good. But why do you have to make a 8-episode drama when everything you have to say, fit perfectly in six episodes?? The two last episodes were just repetitions, re-use of the images from the precedents, again and again like the viewers/fans were idiots, forgetting everything at the end of each episodes ... The last episode that everybody was waiting for, the first meeting after the amputation surgery, should have been the most moving one, when Nut could beautifully reassure Phob of his unconditional love, but instead it was at 95% a summary of the entire story, with the song played in full length two times. And on the top of that, the second part, announced as a 13 minute episode, lasted in fact 9 minutes. And the most outrageous thing that the third part (8 3/3) was an uninteresting meeting with the leads and after that 10 minutes of comments. I shut down at that moment. Really unhappy by this mistreatment of the devoted audience. I guess more episodes bring more advertisement money but we don't care.
My grade of 8 is for the six first episodes.If I wanted to include the 8 episodes it would have dropped to 4. Too bad.

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A Slooooowwww Realistic(ish) Drama

Content warnings: none I can think of

Overall: A slower paced (too slow in my opinion) series dealing with a realistic problem.

What I Liked
- A more realistic reason for the drama
- Supportive siblings
- Lack of evil girlfriend/ex-girlfriend/stalker "fan"
- Focused on 1 couple* instead of a billion (slight exaggeration) couples

Room For Improvement
- 4 year gap: I really dislike time gaps where 1 person makes a unilateral decision and the other person is miserable for years and years supposedly for their own good, ugh.
- Number of flashbacks/flashforwards: it takes me out of the story and this had quite a few of time hops especially via flashbacks. The whole 7th episode was a flashback, it felt like filler.
- Lack of doctor/patient confidentiality: I think the sister could have talked to Nut about Phob instead of his doctor
- *Not being clear about the brother & Tar's relationship until episode 6: just a few romantic moments would have made this clear earlier. I would have liked their relationship to be more developed.
- Pacing felt too slow to me: I watched this on at least 1.5 (or more) speed and I think it would have been better as 6 episodes, maybe even 5.
- The ending: was okay, I generally don't like cliffhangers and I don't think it had the impact it should have had because of the lack of a developed romantic relationship. I would watch a 2nd season though.

I skipped ahead from ep 5 to the end because I was worried and fyi it is not a tragic ending. 
Watch past the credits of each episode as there are side stories/interviews with the cast/director. 
I think I'm being a bit generous with 7.5 as I really had to push myself to finish all 8 episodes.

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Strong Start, Meh Ending

I was so excited for this drama when it first started. The attention to detail for the early 2000s setting really added to the fresh feeling this BL had. Most of the cast may be first time actors, but they all gave their absolute best to their roles and you can feel the love and heart put into this project. Title was especially wonderful as Nut and his chemistry with his costar Man as Phob was great.

Good vibes, pretty decent acting, a strong start... so, what went wrong? One word: flashbacks. This show was plagued by far to many similar flashbacks that sometimes added nothing to the scene and took away valuable time that could have been used for storytelling. Because of it's short run time, the story of Phob's and Nut's relationship felt extremely underdeveloped. Not to say their feelings felt rushed because they weren't. Them getting together made sense. But we didn't get to see anything beyond that really after such a crucial time in their lives where Phob was going through such a big change.

The finale was disappointing to say the least. It felt like a music video montage and had an unnecessary time skip that ended on a cliffhanger. So, season 2 maybe? This series felt a bit too much like it was trying to be a mysterious indie movie with an ambiguous ending but kind of flopped in that area.

Despite this I still think it's worth the watch. Like I said, it just feels like a production with a lot of love and passion behind it and often times it left me feeling warm. I congratulate the cast on their performances and hope they all continue to have a bright future ahead of them in the acting industry.

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Beautiful and full of emotion

This BL directed by Mean (Love by Chance, 2Wish, UWMA) is one of the best BL's I've seen. It is beautifully shot, really well acted by new actors (I believe) and packs so much emotion in its storytelling that I'm emotionally drained after each episode. The story is engrossing and has some great twists and turns. I'm almost afraid to see what comes next, that's how invested you get. There are some light moments of course and those are just as well done as the rest. A must watch in my opinion!

I hope to see these new young actors, Man and Title, in other projects. They are both so talented and convey feelings so well that it's hard to believe they are new to the industry.

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Didn't you know....

I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. The sincerity of Nut and Phob is the heart of this beautiful love story. Childhood friends into lifelong lovers. Be prepared, if you are going to watch this, forget the tissue and get a beach towel. You are going to need it.
Why was this gem hidden, I don't know.

Phob and Nut have to very opposite personalites and in this, thier conflicts begin. Saved from a dog, Phob protects Nut, who as they grow together, falls in love with him. Nut is sensitive and treasures every moment with his friend. Phob is outgoing and very protective of Nut, without letting anyone know, even Nut. He hides his true feelings behind his ever present smile which is the catalyst for their misunderstandings. He shares with others but not Nut, protecting him from the pain his situation will cause. They grow distant but always with the help of Kong, a mutual friend, they reconnect.

This series deals with a real life topic which is hard to deal with. Phob struggles with it personally and gives up until Nut's re-entry into his life. Finally, they speak freely of how they affected each other's life and Nut begs him never to disappear again. Phob promises and with the help of Nut, he makes the decision take on life again. Phob, at the end, reciprocates and asks Nut, to always be by his side.

Phob and Nut's personaities are a perfect match and it is beautiful to see. The script is not bogged down with melodrama but guides the slow direction of the story. That is not to say it is perfect. The flashbacks are a hindrance rather than a propeller. This could have easily been a 6 ep instead of 8. The romance is warm but limited as there are missed opportunites for tender touches and soft kisses. Their eyes tell that story. The constant rehashing of their pivotal meeting became tedious. After the pov of each, it could have been put to rest. The ending of the story is odd as it gives the impression of a S2 to be made but wasn't.

The entire cast did a great job with minor hiccups from the support cast. The main were solid. The back drop realistic for a rural setting and the time period 2002 - 2006. The antique phones, ringtones, phone booth and computers were a perfect touch. This added to the obvious charm of the series. I believe Mean wrote a short which was expanded on. He co-directed and acted in it. He did good with this.

Overall, it was a nice heart breaking watch which I fully recommend.

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Flashback Soup

I just read some of the comments and reviews and I couldn't believe everybody is praising this series, so I feel like I have to remind you to care about quality and never lower your standards even for a BL.

STORY: The idea of the story is actually the best quality of this series. but unfortunately the writers obviously lack the knowledge and attention span to develop believable characters and flesh out the story by creating the necessary plot points to execute the original idea into a series. Therefore the final result feels more like an unfinished project that needs to be retouched much more to become a script that can be turned into a multi episode TV Series.

ACTING: The two leads are both fresh newbies, which would be perfectly OK if they could act. But none of the newbie actors in the series have the ability to deliver a decent performance. Since this is a very dramatic story with an intimate theme, most of the narrative development is based on the actors' ability to convey the deep and complicated feelings of each character through their facial expression and body language. Yet, Mr. Title as Nut can only present the audience with two emotions. This number is even lower for Mr. Man as Phob. He can only give us a bright eyed toothy smile, while in the sad scenes he has nothing to offer.

EDITING: While the review section on MDL ignores editing as one of the main qualities to be discussed on a review note, it is actually one of the more important characteristics of a drama. For The Yearbook, though, Editing is its weakest point. It seems like the director ordered the editing staff to create the perfect Soup for each episode, by taking all the material they have and mix it up as they please. The result is a bunch of consequential scenes scattered with nonconsequential flashbacks that seem to just play on repeat endlessly.
Another super annoying editing issue is the, again very much repetitive, songs that keep playing while the characters are looking at a distant scenery or taking forever to deliver their lines. This technique is nice for a special part in the drama, but over using it made me long for a moment of silence. At some point I was tempted to throw my earbuds out.

Directing: Don't get me wrong. I think Mr. Mean is a talented actor. I actually liked his performance in LBC 2. And there is nothing wrong with expanding his career if he likes directing. But, a TV series at this length is too much for someone who is at the initial stage of his career. I think it would have been a wiser decision if the producers found a more experienced director for this series, and let Mr. Mean and Mr. Benz work as co-directors. Personally, I think the best path for a young director is to start by testing his hand at making a few short films before going for larger productions.

OVERALL: For those who are considering to watch The Yearbook, I can't guarantee you won't drop it halfway. I have read in the comment section that the movie has less flashbacks so maybe you'd better watch that version.

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What I liked:
* The acting performances of both main leads, they portrayed the emotions of their characters, their fears, their anguish, their hopes really well.
* The soft, washed-out colour palette. It supports the slow pacing of the story well.
* The setting is in a rural area, with normal people in normal surroundings.
* There are none of the usual BL tropes here, wich is always nice to see. This is what you can call a universal love story.
* Overall an unusual story for a BL series, although not for a "traditional" (romantic) show. Extra points for that.

What I did not like:
* I don't know why the brother and his friend could not have just stayed supporting background characters. Their relationship distracted from the main leads.
* Too many flashbacks. The pacing could have been more concise and still alllow for enough space to show the motives and emotions of all characters and have a slow pacing.
* Why do the doctors tell Nut about his friend's (their patient's) medical situation? This is not ethical behaviour and it irks me.

Overall impression:
Very nice, but expect a story that deals with a heavy experience and how both main leads deal with it. Not light-hearted, so if you are prone to crying in emotional scenes, keep your hankies ready!

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You should watch it! highly recommend it!!

I really loved and enjoyed watching this! The chemistry between Phob and Nut is so strong and comes out naturally. If you told me they are in love for real I'd have believed you.

The actor for Phob is the kindof person whose smile heals souls, the kind of smile who you will forget all the hurt in the world when you see it. They picked the right actor for the character Phob since his smile works perfectly when the character is so hurt and depressed on the inside, and people can be blinded by it and assume you're happy when you're actually depressed and fighting with death. For some reason I get very emotional whenever I see Phob smiling bc it reminds me of myself, the darkhole of depression I struggle with and how no one knows how i feel bc I hide i with a smile.

The story is short but it'll make you feel so much feelings and nostalgia all at once. The directing and cinematography reminds me of Taiwanese dramas. Wish it was longer bc I can't get enough of it.

Oh and I'm so proud of Mean for directing and writing this story, I hope he'll write or direct another drama in the future - I'll be watching it whether its BL or not

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I wanted to love this so badly.

There is so much about this that's wonderful. The acting and cinematography are excellent.

That's a lot - and it's why I gave this a 7 instead of the 5.5 'suggested' rating. I like that this takes a more cinematic and sophistic approach to making a BL - this is not like a mainstream series where everyone is fantastically rich - the characters even take a train!

There is no way to escape comparison to I Told Sunset About You, which is another ambitious production about similar themes - I could watch that 100 times and was enthralled for every minute of it. The Yearbook was something to endure.

It's slow. I don't mind slow-pacing during scenes - in fact I prefer a scene that develops. The problem isn't the slowness of scenes, although they're really, really slow, it's the overall slowness of the plot and the reliance on flashbacks to fill time. I understand this is an expansion of a school project. It's not so much an expansion as an inflation. You will see the same scenes flashed back to many, many times - like a dozen or more - I'm not kidding. There are flashback scenes that have their own flashback scenes - I'm not joking, it happens many times.

Within scenes, the dialog is spoken in this unnatural slow and halting manner, with very long pauses and staring to the point that Bite Me seems rushed in comparison. Everyone moves very slowly, too. Like 90 year-olds. Heavily sedated 90-year olds. There's a scene were Nut takes a photo out of a drawer and sets it up on his desk. He opens the drawer so slowly I thought maybe he was afraid there was a bomb in it, then withdraws the photo really slowly, slowly places it on his desk, then writes a pointless letter that takes 5 minutes, and then he gives up and just calls Phob instead.

There is no point to this story. It's not about loss - there was an opportunity to delve into different types of loss and how you move on, but nope, just slow talking and flashbacks.

There is a scene where the main characters appear to have sex - offscreen, which is fine. But then the next day they behave exactly as they did before - there was no impact on their relationship, no discussion, it just disappeared and never happened again, and they resumed interacting like bro's. They even woke up fully-dressed and not even cuddling.

A little over halfway through, a character has to go somewhere for a few hours to take care of something life-changing. And the series comes to a screeching halt and there are three episodes that are almost entirely flashback. If you're expecting a fluffy ending, you're not getting one. It's not a sad ending, it's not really a happy ending, it just ends, as if the crew said "f@#$ it, this isn't going anywhere, let's just stop here." That sounds exaggerated, but you'll think I understated it if you watch this series.

The life-changing event is fairly dramatic, and it does result in a character signing a song for the other character (over the phone, all to flashbacks, including a flashback to someone else singing the same song - and with vocals, not just visual). No hug, no "I'm here for you", certainly nothing to indicate there's any romantic connection. The song isn't about loss or moving on, it's expression of unrelated feelings that he could have communicated 10 years prior but somehow never did, even though they had sex.

This is not a BL. It's a bromance. There is a kiss, once, miss-it-if-you-blink, and the main pair do seem to love each other, but it feels to me that it was a bromance with one kiss thrown in to make it a BL so they could market it to us and Mean's fan base. This feels like an attempt at a BL by straight guys who think m/m love is gross and so it's barely in here. This is the BL equivalent of interior "decor" that's all white walls, black leather furniture and a huge TV for video games and watching sports.

There is more time spent by straight characters discussing girls they like than there is of the main characters discussing their feelings for each other, which, incidentally, they do not do, ever, even once. They sing their feelings, which is nice (although twice it's over the phone), but we needed to see them interact like lovers. After high school, the main pair were rarely even in the same room together. Except in flashbacks.

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Story: 3. Superficial, lazy, manipulative, and designed to make sure the main characters interact as little as possible.

Acting: 9. The delivery of dialog was terrible, but that's not the actors' fault - they otherwise did an excellent job showing us what they feel, which makes the endless flashbacks mystifying. Why hire such good actors if you're not going to let them do the heavy lifing?

Music: 8.5. This was well-done. The original lyrics were good without being carried away, the singing was what you'd expect from non-professionals, although someone who's a better singer should have been cast for Phob. Anyway, one of the series' better qualities.

Rewatch value: 1. If you held a gun to my head, I would still not sit through this again. It's probably worth watching once, but there's nothing that would draw me back.

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