Please pay no mind to the star ratings for this review. Because I admit it, I am one of those people for whom this series has nostalgic value. When I first watched it in 2022, this was only my second live-action BL drama (and my first encounter with anything Thai), and I was *fascinated*. I had been reading Japanese BL manga in the early 2000s and I have been a voracious reader of slash fanfiction for more than 25 years now -- but I never knew live-action BLs even existed until 2022.
So, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed, and this makes me feel more favourable towards this series than it deserves.

Because, if we are being honest, apart from Pete and Ae's love story, this drama is not very good.

It starts with the technical side:
The colours are strangely subdued (for a Thai production), without there being a narrative reason for it. The background noise is at times overwhelming (especially in a scene where Pete, his mother and Ae sit near a fountain) -- although at other time I find it charming to hear university life going on in the background. We can hear clothes brushing over microphones in some scenes. Props are not quite what they should be (thereare props from IKEA at rich Pete's house, and school bags are often obviously empty. In some scenes the actors look as if they had to do their own hair and make-up.

The show obviously had a rather low budget; but not everything about it is bad. I love the messy dorm room -- a bit icky, probably hot -- and both the flat colours and the background noise give the university grounds a realistic vibe -- watching the young people in the canteens, on the walkways and on the football field, surrounded by the noise and heat of Thailand, I always feel that this is just one of many stories happening on the campus. It's nothing like most of the newer airbrushed and clean BL drama, which are painfully obviously set in drama-land.

If we're looking at the acting and the directing, the series is mediocre: Some scenes are full of awkward acting -- some are more watchable. Since most actores were complete newbies at the time, I can understand it -- but better directing could have helped here. There are some scenes that are outstanding though. One of them is the beautiful coming out-scene in episode 1 -- the hesitation in the beginning, the way Pete's mum suppresses her own feellings and turns away and towards Pete again and again, the tentative questions and the short but reassuring answers, until both are in tears, the hesitant acceptance in the end -- this is the kind of coming-out scene I miss in newer BLS, where acceptance often is immediate and coming out is no big deal. (And while we here, I love that Pete describes himself as "gay", and doesn't only use descriptive terms.)
And an upopular opinion, maybe: I wish they had cast someone else than Perth for Ae. Don't get me wrong, Perth does a good job (especially considering his age)! But Ae is time and again described as short, stocky and dark -- Perth is none of these. Ae's appearance is an important part of his character though, and one of his sources of insecurity, and I would have liked it bo be more obvious. Alos, I would have liked to see the visual difference between a dark, stocky and short Ae and a light-skinned, tall and lanky Pete.

And now to the most obvious flaws: the storylines. We have five couples here, which is aready too much for a fourteen episode series, and half of them are not what I'd call good romance.
The one with the least screentime is also the worst -- outright rape, and subsequent victim-blaming, which is only played for laughs? Yeah, this is where it becomes very clear that this is based on a MAME story. Since this was a Wabi Sabi production and aired by GMM25, there must have been people in charge who worked independently from MAME and should have been able to cut this from the drama? I really don't want to know what the producers and screenwriter were thinking.
The story of Tar and Tum is very flawed -- I don't really mind that they are step-brothers. Two consenting adults can do what they want, in my opinion, as long as there won't be any children (the risk of genetic diseases is just too high). The thing is, there's no consent here in the scene where Tum tries to assault Tar. What I don't like about this subplot are two things: a) the story neither begins nor ends within the series. We don't know the background if we don't know TharnType, and the story does not stop at a satisfying point. And b) Tar's trauma is not handled well. If he's still victim-blaming himself-- then why is he not still in therapy? Why does his brother not know anything about it? (He doesn't need to know details, but it's quite obviuos that Tum is completely in the dark here.)
Putting the Tar/Tum story and the No/Kengkla plot next to each other -- why? We have a guy thoroughly traumatized by rape and in the same drama, rape is supposed to be something funny? Doesn't compute at all. Why did nobody notice?

Can and Tin, well. This is a mixed bag for me. I strongly dislike the "top pressures the bottom into sexual situations" trope, so I was not enamoured with their story at first, or later. Can is clearly not in a mental place where he is ready to enter *anything* remotely romantic / sexual, and Tin is only trying to get someone so he won't be alone any more, so his pursuing Can is not about Can, only about himself. So, I was really happy with their ending -- Can got a good character development arc, where he ends up realizing what a romantic/sexual relationship could mean for him, understanding that he does not want it at the moment -- and consequently rejecting Tin. Go, Can!
I did love Cha-Aim and Pond. I love their constant bickering, love how she always pushes back at Pond whenever he gets too much. I love a woman who knows her worth, and can clearly communicate her boundaries and her wants. Pond comes across as this slightly icky, sex-crazed porn addict (and I don't love his slightly homophobic attitude at the beginning). But as we get to know him, we can see that behind his "Three S" behaviour, there's actually a guy who cares about his friends deeply, and who never judges people for who they are.

Well, and Pete and Ae? Their love story is the one reason I can't give a lower rating than I did. This is a wonderful teenage love story, with a lot of "firsts" for both of them. I usually don't like the top/bottom dynamics, which are extremely strong here (Ae is rough, strong, possessive, while Pete is meek, soft, and very shy). But with them, it fits -- here, it feels as if they are two halves ot the same whole. And while Ae is extremely possessive, he is also someone who doesn't feel as if he deserved Pete (and seeks reassurance from Pete!). Yes, Ae is clearly the dominant partner -- but as a good dominant partner should, he always chacks in with Pete and tries to be aware of any boundaries. Even the "gay for you" trope works here, since Ae hasn't had any sexual desire before.
Like with any good teenage romance, both Pete and Ae grow in the course of navigating their relationship, and are more adult in the end than in the beginning.

So, can I recommend it?
Not really. There's so many good BL series nowadays, that it's really not necessary to watch this one.
On the other hand, Love by Chance *is* one of the classics which laid the groundwork for following works. And Ae and Pete are just adorable. Should you decide to try it, you should be aware of the show's many flaws and prepare yourself for a rather explicit rape scene in episode 14. Or you can just fast-forward through all of the scenes with Kengkla (No alone is okay) and with Tum or Tar in them. You won't miss anything.

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I watched almost all of "Arm Share" (where Arm Weerayut invites one to six (mainly) GMMTV artists to play games with him or take part in an activity) from the beginning to the current episode over the course of the last weeks or months.

Arm WC, the sole host of this show, is a charming man, who can even make the most nervous newbies relax. A lot of the guests seem to enjoy taking part and keep coming back, and I think this is the reason why the show has been as long running as it has. (Arm Share has been running for five-and-a-half years now (Oct 2024), from before the Covid pandemic, through it, and beyond.)

Except for the episodes before the pandemic, the main goal of most episodes seems to be to promote the guests and the sponsors' products. And the latter is unfortunately so prominent in more than a few episodes that I felt as if I watched a long commercial, not a show. I do understand the need for finances, so I can take a bit of advertisement, but sometimes it felt as if every third sentence was about the promoted product. Recent episodes (I'd say from the beginning of 2024) have been much better in that regard, so maybe they've decided to dial it down a bit.

For those who are undecided if they want to watch older episodes -- you absolutely can! I'd recommend the first 46 episodes, which had a different concept. They showed Arm as he tested food together with GMMTV staff, as he explained how to do subtle make-up for men, as he showed us parts of his life, as he worked as a stylist for concerts and MVs, as he travelled to SKorea and Japan. (A YouTube comment on the second Hiroshima episode reads "I miss Arm Share when it was about Arm" and they are right.)
Actually, I think it's a crying shame that the concept changed, because this way, the show underutilizes Arm's talents in the areas of styling, fashion, arts, and his general hard-working character who seems to be interested in a lot of topics. I wonder how this show would have developed if the pandemic and it's consequences hadn't forced restrictions on producing?

After those first episodes, it's probably better to choose only those when there's a guest you want to see, because, as I said, it's become about the guests and the product placements. It's still funny, but not as charming and authentic.

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Does what it set out to do.

"You Are Mine" is a classic office rom-com with a boss-employee romance. This drama thankfully doesn't pretend to want to be anything else, and it does it well.

In accordance with its theme, the drama is rife with tropes -- from the gaggle of secretaries / colleagues, to the meddling friend/co-worker, and of course, both working overtime and the all-too-common work outing and more.

There's one story aspect that doesn't quite fit.
The main struggle in this story is that there's an imbalance of power between a boos and his employee -- and I do love that they address this! -- but it doesn't quite make itself clear through the script and the acting. For the longest time, it seems as if our employee is the usual "bottom"-type who is reluctant to enter a sexual/romantic same-sex relationship. The writing emphasizes this aspect too much and for too long, while the much more interesting and *actual* hurdle is only truly visible near the end.

I also am not too enamoured by the music. While the songs themselves fit the vibe of the drama and are likeable enough, they are unbearable as background music and distract from rather than support the scenes.

Both these aspects though are overshadowed by the amazingly on-point performance of the main actors, and also by the supporting actors -- it feels as if they know their characters inside out. The comedic timing is usually perfect.

I also love the "interviews" at the start of each episode (except episode 1, which has it at the end), which are funny in their own unique way.

Overall, it's a nice and fun watch for a gloomy day.

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I don't want to say much about the plot, or the film's main theme -- because, in the end, this is one of those films where every viewer can and must(!) find their own meaning behind what they've seen. This film expects you to find your own take -- especially the "last scene" is packed with layers upon layers of -- sometimes contradictory -- meaning.

If you saw a light teenage summer film, fine! If you saw an allegory about modern tiktok-shorts, easily consumed and easily forgotten, versus feature-length old-style slow-paced films, good! Or if you saw an essay about how similar rival relationships in classic samurai films (and also wild west movies and thriller dramas, btw) are to love relationships, also nice!
And if you saw a completely different meaning in the film, especially in the last scene -- impressive! The author is dead. It's your film as soon as you watch it.

Maybe one word about the cast -- they were all great! I love the subtle pining of Bito-Ban's, I love the banter between the technical crew of the samurai movie. And Ito Marika, who played Hadashi was overwhelmingly good -- I loved how she managed to change her body language depending on the mood and setting her character is in: Awkward and angular at school, relaxed and engaged when with her friends and when directing, focussed and precise when imitating Samurai fighting. Her facial expressions range from subtle to exaggerated. I cannot imagine another actress taking this role.

Thank you, Elisheva, for giving me the push to finally watch this film. I'm glad I did.

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What a ride!

You think, yes, now I know what will happen next, now I know how it will end -- and no, you probably don't. While it was always clear that Trillion Game would win in the end, the "how" was very much not clear. I thought I'd know how Haru would do it, but, as it turned out, I didn't. Even at the last scene, there was a bit of a twist.

That said, the obstacles were overcome a bit too easily; and even now, I'm not clear about Princess Kiriri's motivations at times. I'd have liked to see maybe one or two fewer obstacles but better ones, or at least I'd have liked to see Haru having a bit more trouble in succeeding. As it was, his plans were a bit *too* perfect. More attention to details would have been a benefit to the story.

Speaking of details, one aspect that continuously irked me: The way that the actual *doing* was just disregarded.
For example, the opening of an e-commerce flower delivery: Where do you get the flowers from? Who will do the actual arrangements, even if they are planned by an "AI"?
Oh, and "AI", as Haru said himself: "It's a buzzword." Even if you can program an AI to do the things it does in this series, the costs for building and maintaining servers with enough processing power are enormous! Not only the material cost, but also the energy cost needed.It's why any company investing in AI has not seen a penny of return investment and it's expected to remain that way in the forseeable future.
It's a shame that the series doesn't pay attention to this sort of details.

Another aspect I found disappointing was the writing of the female characters. Yes, it's the story of the journey of Haru and Gaku -- but as the third partner Rinrin deserved better than to be used as scapegoat (even if she got her own happy ending), and that Princess Kiriri had to submit was also disappointing (even if it was for character-appropriate reasons). I would have liked to see them both put on a more equal footing with the men.

What I really loved though, and what made everything I just said insignificant overall, was the excellent acting -- by all of the cast. Meguro, of course, as the inscrutable Haru -- and until the last show-down I wasn't quite sure what exactly went in in his head -- but also Imada with her cool and calculating presence as well as Sano's depiction of an awkward nerd. I could list all of the actors, but then this will get too long.

Another plus in my book, there's only a hint of romance towards the very end, and even the sizzling chemistry between Haru and Kiri is always turned into rivalry, never romance.

The actors, together with the outstanding music choices and the fast-paced editing made the drama a wild ride, and I was hooked from the first to the last minute.

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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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"Can I ... Can I carry you on my back?"

"You know ... I'm getting married soon. But it has been so hard for me these days. I should ... I should get married... I have to soon ... but ..."

This is not a story about a middle-aged man lusting after a boy. This is a story about a man, who once was young, who denied himself his chance with his first love, who is feeling the societal pressures to get married -- who mourns his loss and tries to say good-bye to what once could have been.

Even though this film is short, it's slow. What we hear is not what Jin Tae says -- do not listen with your ears, listen with your heart and your mind; what you can feel and know about him.
Everything is subtle and muted; the excellent melancholic acting, the autumn colours, the quiet sounds -- the story's in the details.

This film will not be for everyone; it's been hard for me to "get it" too -- but maybe you'll find yourselft a bit more open the next time a middle-aged queer person tells their story.

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This is how you do a teenage rom-com

I love this.

The comedy is spot-on, both all of the characters (the students of class 8/1 are a hoot!) and the comedic timing. It's very silly, and still the film has some depth.

The eternal desire of highschool students -- I want to fit in -- is tackled for several characters' perspective. Whether it is that your secret crush is exposed in the most demeaning way, whether you have a condition that sets you apart form the others, or whether your nipples are inverted -- all of us want recognition, and even love. But how to achieve that?

This rom-com is not only funny as heck until the last minute, it also surprised me not only with a positive message, but also with excellent acting, a good pacing, great animation(!), and very, very likable characters.

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1975. In the tense times of war in the neighbouring countries, and the worries about a similar communist insurgence, a young teacher arrives in a provincial border town.
His progressive ideas about teaching don't find easy acceptance among parents and teachers, who think strict upbringing, including corporal punishment, and learning by rote is the path to success for their children.
We follow teaching, parenting and learning adventures of Kru "Ma" Wichai and his third graders in this 12 episode drama.

I admit, I can't often withstand the temptation of a good drama about teaching -- and this one delivered. I loved its message about good teaching methods (even if sometimes I thought Wichai could have found a middle ground in teaching, for peace's sake) and how it showed how school and parenting was done in the 1970s in Thailand.
Also, I learned that I know next to nothing about the history of south-east Asia -- I mean I had heard of Pol Pot, and of course, the VietCong but I did not know anything about the greater picture in the area, let alone that life in Thailand's border territory was that dangerous.
So, a great learning experience not only for the characters but also for me.

The acting was great all around -- and especially for the children! These young actors, five of whom had rather large roles, impressed me.
The story, i.e. the characters and the setting had hooked me from the very first minutes -- and it did not let me go until the last second. The conflicts were at times solved too easily or too quickly, that is to be expected though; this series is made to be a feel-good drama, with a positive outlook.
Most of the series is either optimistic or funny, the last episode had me in tears three times (for entirely different reasons each time).

There's maybe a bit of romantic interest (a few minutes in the later episodes), but it's up to the viewer to decide if they get together as a couple or if they remain good colleagues -- I choose the latter ;) The teacher-student relationship and the friendships between the children are definitely at the centre of the drama, as it should be.

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This was originally released as seven shorts YouTube, which were later posted as one video. During this time, viewers did not know after each episode, if that one had been the last -- if and when the story would continue.

Until this project, the YouTube channel "옆집남자 GuyNextDoor" had only made short comedy skits -- most of which are really good! They used their history and experience with these shorts to their advantage for their project "Fake Buddies" by filming and releasing the seven parts as comedic shorts, without any indication whether each one would be the last. The first four or so were even complete little stories in themselves, at first I wasn't sure if they should be seen as part of the same story at all. The wait and the guessing game (Will the story continue? Will we get a backstory? Which couple will we see?) enhanced the experience for me.

Even as a finished product, this short story (the complete version is 44:35 min) is charming -- the acting is well done, the comedic timing on point. The plot is simple -- the way it is told make us root for all four of the young people. The budget was obviously non-existent -- for this story about people "next door" more wasn't needed.

GuyNextDoor show us that you can tell a good story, even without budget, if you use your strengths to your advantage. I'll be looking forward to their upcoming projects.

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Tomorrow, won't the world be a little better than today?

Slice-of-life drama about a team of prosecutors in the South Korean province, whose office branch is so insignificant that the top-most official forgets to visit them.

This show is not at all flashy or fast. It delves into the everyday lives of some prosecutors, shows how they struggle to make the best possible case before they go into court.
Whoever was responsible for the sets did a great job in underlining the day-to-day of office life. I noticed that the paperwork in the offices never looks the same over time.

Regarding the cases, there are some which seem very mundane (but are important to the victims), and I liked that they are taken very seriously by the team. Usually, there are several cases which belong to a similar topic per episode -- there's no trial shown though, so we usually don't know what the sentence is going to be. The focus is on the process that comes before the trial.

Having said that, the drama is not all serious and sombre. There are a lot of hilarious scenes, that had me chuckling or even laughing loudly. The humour more prominent in earlier episodes but it's still there until the very end, unlike in some other K-dramas.

I loved that all of the team (and other people in the branch) get their own character and their own share of time during the drama -- at the end, I felt that I'd grown close to all of them.
I've seen comments on VIKI which called them a family -- it's not quite that, I think, just a very good team with people who like to spend the odd evening together, who are interested in the ups and downs of their lives -- but normally don't get actively involved in each other's private or family lives.
(If there is one flaw in this show, it's that the family lives are only brought up in one episode per prosecutor -- which is especially noticable in the case of the mother, who has altogether too much time to hang out with her colleagues, considering she has two small children at home.)

These characters are first and foremost --- people.
People have strengths and weaknesses, they might be warm-spirited or cold-faced, all of them struggle in some way or the other.
But what counts is how you face your struggles: Will you bend to pressure? Will you keep your moral compass? Will you learn from your experience? What will make you compromise? Will you be able to look at the humorous side of things?

There are no heroes; there are only people trying to do what they think is right. And if you can say "Tomorrow, won't the world be a little better than today?" (cf. ep. 16, 1:08h), I think that you've lived your life well.

I had hoped to be able to add this show to my "No Romance!" collection -- but there is just enough of a romance arc (barely) that it doesn't fulfill my rules. Still, even so, the romance is cute, nicely developed, and really only a very minor part of the whole drama.

Very much recommended!

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The film shows us the story of an elderly woman and her autistic son, Chu-san (He's legally named Tadao, yes, but he only goes by Chu-san) and their struggles with their neighbours.

It's never sentimental about it; there's no pathos at all. It just shows the people as the are. It also never tries to explain what people are thinking or feeling, why they act the way they do -- which is especially exceptional for Chu-san. I can imagine that a lesser film would try to explain him to the "normal" people (i.e. the ausidence), either directly or through the mouth of a character.
This film does neither. It shows us how Chu-san lives his life, what is important to him and where he clashes with the world, who shows no sympathy for him at all; with the exception of the son of the neighbour family.

Following the way the story is told -- unsentimental, but with great sympathy -- the acting and editing stays natural and even understated throughout.


If you can watch this film, then I recommend you to do so!

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This movie is one of those I find it really hard to write a review for -- anything I would say would spoil it, since this movie is one of those which are fascinating because there's no way to know what will happen next.

So, I'll just point out only some aspects:
* Trigger warnings for explicit depictions of excessive violence, suicide, human trafficking, drug use rape and forced sex work.
* The movie is very slow and quiet, except where it's not.
* The movie is definitely not fluffy. But heartwarming all the same.
* There's a love story that is told in less than six minutes, from beginning to the end -- and I still cried for both lovers. (But it's still not a romance movie.)
* The young boy actor was impressive.
* A lot of the story is told not in dialogue but in silence. The movie expects the viewer to pay attention not what the characters say, but what they do.
* When people are victims, over and over, all of their lives, is there a chance to get up again? -- The story can be read as some social commentary. But maybe not.
* The sombre tone is lightened by the group of neighbours, whose loving antics are hilarious.

This is not a movie I will rewatch any time soon, it's just too intense for that -- maybe in a few years. But I can recommend it for anyone who is not disturbed by the themes mentioned above and wants something different that engages the mind.
It's probably best if you see for yourself.

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Question: Is the Kim Pilheung the same character as in To My Star, just a few years younger?

What I liked:
* I actually liked that there was no inner dialogue, which is there in the series -- it made things a bit more ambiguous for me, which suits the characters' developing emotional state.* I liked the acting of all the actors.
* The girl's mother was cute :)
* We still don't know what is so different at the end of the story that it is possible for the couple to be together. I actually like that.


What I did not like:
* The premise is interesting (though similar things have been done already), but things don't really add up, unless Gang Gook is in some kind of indentured servitude? If they are both 18 or so, then 15 years ago, when their master-bodyguard-relationship began, Gook must have been three years old?
* Even if he started his role later, he would still have been a minor.
* Tae Joo's father seems to regard Gook as some kind of whipping boy, which is otherwise not seen as a problem, but it is an archaic practice that should not have a place in modern society.
* All of this imbalance of power between Tae Joo and Gook is adressed several times but never resolved between them. It makes the happy ending unfinished, for me, and leaves a bad taste...

The last points of both my lists would make an excellent starting point for a second series, in which their difference in status and the need for balance in their relationship would be the main theme. (Could even be as good as the second series of To My Star, I think).

Compared to the movie, I like the series less, since the movie's music score fits it better, and also I liked that we don't get the inner monolgue, which I found more distracting than helpful.

So, overall, it's not that bad, if you can and want to watch the story, then watch the movie.

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I'll drink this cup, even though I don't like coffee.

The most stressful parts of this series are the previews for the next episode.

This is a slow-paced slice-of-life drama, and although it addresses heavier topics (illness, death, financial problems, social injustice etc.), all the episodes end on a positive note.

Each episode focuses on one question or person -- but there are enough recurring characters from the neighbourhood that the shop feels like a part of the community.
The coffee shop is not just a backdrop for the stories, but the process of making a cup of coffee and the pleasure of drinking it are a integral part of the series -- even I, who do not like to drink coffee, was tempted to go and try some of these. In later episodes, the focus tends toward the beans and their origins, and that lost me a bit; my investment in the characters was strong enough to continue regardless.

Also, I liked that they incorporated the pandemic -- a lot of shows just ignore it, even though it has had a huge impact on most of us over the last few years.

The open but hopeful ending suited the slice-of-life theme of the whole show -- life does not have a Happily Ever After.

All in all, I can recommend it.
Although the show reminds me of Japanese shows like "Rokuhoudou" oder "Three Star Bar", it lacks that certain je ne sais quoi that those shows have -- so it's worth watching and I enjoyed every minute of it, but I don't think I'll be coming back.

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