PaniniMayhem
It was a Wattpad wet dream at best
All the tropes were toxic, Tharn and Type are the worst couple in BL IMO. This was the 3rd BL I ever watched and after I finished it I felt disgusted with myself for sitting through such a horrifying portrayal of “love”. This taught me to avoid the MAME cinematic universe for the foreseeable future.There should have been so many trigger warnings preceding the show so the viewers will brace for the shitstorm they are about to sit through. There were so many opportunities for the story to take a different direction but MAME decided to go down the toxic route. The trauma experienced by the characters was portrayed well by the actors but the resolution fell flat. MAME loves redeeming her toxic characters by giving them sad backstories or just straight up having their victim forgive them.
Was this review helpful to you?
Cutie pie: A groomers wet dream
I saw other reviews and thought maybe I should still give it a shot because I was intrigued by ZeeNuNew and I instantly regretted my decision. From the first episode I knew I would struggle to make it to the end because how disjointed and stupid the story was. If you like toxic age gap relationships bordering on creepy ( or just outright creepy) then series might be for you. The power dynamics are downright unfair in the first two relationships: two super rich CEOs dating younger men who are genuinely afraid of them so they live secret lives which their CEO boyfriends know about and use to manipulate them.The first relationship (Hia Lian and Kuea) even goes as far as having the couple be engaged from childhood (they met when Kuea was born and they got engaged at ages 13 and 5)which they keep reminding us of up until the end and led to one of the cringiest lines in the series “I’ve loved you since you were born”. The second relationship (Hia Yi and Khon Diao) was particularly disturbing to me because the actor who plays Khon Diao looked like and behaved like a prepubescent teenager in the show IMO (he was 19 when they filmed the show) and it was cringey watching him interact sexually with his scene partner who is 10 years older than him in real life. The premise of their entire relationship makes zero sense and just felt like an excuse to keep and groom a child. The last and best relationship (Nuer and Syn) was the only bright spot for me, they were age mates, enemies to lovers in the least toxic way possible and they had the most realistic relationship dynamic.
The assistants especially Foei did the job of providing comic relief well and I laughed whenever they were on screen. The chihuahua didn’t want to be there and it was so obvious, she kept running away but they wouldn’t let her go.
There was absolutely no character development instead we watched the character decline. One could argue that Hia Lian and Hia Yi had changed by the end but they didn’t, they just confessed their “love” and did the things they already knew their boyfriends wanted to manipulate them to staying in the relationship after treating them like dog shit for years. Kuea started off the series sassy, cute and talented but then he devolved into this weepy spineless caricature of a person. Khon Diao kinda stood up for himself a little but never followed through on his threats to leave. All it took was a dog, a salty dinner and a weak ass confession to bring him back to obedient puppy mode.
Overall, the series felt like an ad for groomers that was overly preachy about same-sex rights in Thailand. We literally could not go an episode without being reminded about how backwards their society is in that regard. I felt like they could have been more subtle and still make the message clear, instead they just kept pushing the agenda by showing us some of the most toxic relationships I’ve ever seen on screen.
In conclusion: Watch at your own risk.
Was this review helpful to you?
Brotherly kisses and brotherly hugs but a fun heartwarming series to watch
This series really worked well with source material, several scenes from the manhwa were replicated on screen and it was beautiful to see. The actors had great chemistry and played their roles very well. The reason I rated the story a 9 is because they really didn't flesh out the second male leads story and this isn't entirely their fault because the manhwa barely does but I would have loved to see more of them. I'm hoping that we get a season 2 focused on them because their story is equally as interesting.Another thing I didn't like were the kiss/hug scenes between Taejoon and Wonyoung. Fish lips kissing and side of lip kissing genuinely make my blood boil because it is passionless. I'm not saying they should shove each other's tongues down their throats but at least suck on each other's lips a bit, like actually kiss. I get that they were trying to keep it PG 13 since it aired on a network but I really hated it. The hugs too irritated me, Taejoon always hugged Wonyoung like they were brothers and Wonyoung was always stiff during their hugs, that's not how people in love hug each other. The smallest example we see of a lovers' hug is in the last episode when Wonyoung initiates the hug before Taejoon quickly transitions it into a brotherly hug.
Overall the show is interesting and has a great rewatch value. As long as you don't expect hot passionate kisses, you'll love this show!
Was this review helpful to you?
A love story told in the best way
This show restored my faith in 15-20 minute long Korean BLs. They didn't drag out scenes unnecessarily, they didn't make us wait for anything and best of all the MCs had really awesome chemistry which made their PDA seem so natural. They need to make this dating sim game IRL so we can keep reliving the romance of Ki Tae and Lee Wan.If you're looking for pure fluff to cleanse your palette of all the toxic BLs you've watched lately, this is for you. If you are fan of To My Star and Semantic Error and are suffering withdrawal symptoms from those shows being over, this is definitely for you. I cannot recommend this show enough, it's a good time all through especially if you've been a victim of unrequited love.
It's so good that It doesn't need a season 2, we just need to the actors paired up again in another BL. I hope they don't run away from BLs once their careers kick off big time after this.
Was this review helpful to you?
