was expecting much much more...

Honestly, the reason I started this series, despite not loving the premise, is because of how high the reviews were on Viki. It had a 9.4 star rating!!!! but this show was so bad!!!!! The actors had literally no chemistry, like I wasn't convinced at all that Sarawat liked Tine at all. The acting coming from Bright wasn't awful, but it seemed like he didn't care about anything for the entire show. I don't think the romance genre suit him. I thought Win's performance was pretty solid, considering the lack of experience. All of the side characters had very good performances as well. I
I really didn't enjoy the whole fan club thing that Sarawat had going on the whole time. It was so unrealistic!! like why are all these girls absolutely drooling after him when he gives them literally zero attention and if anything, is rude to them? Why do these girls completely ignore all of the other hot boys around and unconditionally love him? Honestly, I thought Tine was hotter. Every time the whole girls fanning over him thing came up (often) I was just completely pulled out of the plot. There were no good female characters either.
Now, the chemistry. How are we supposed to believe they are boyfriends if they barely even touch each other? I think they kissed like once!! Their vibe gives more brothers than it does boyfriends. It's not like im asking for explicit sex or anything, but maybe some hand holding? An arm around the waist? A little kiss? come on!!!
Part of the reason I picked up this show was because I had a 10 hour flight and I didn't want to watch a show that was super explicit, a consideration for the people behind me lol.
The plot was very very predictable. And not very interesting. The writing wasn't awful but not anything to be impressed by.

TLDR: the acting from Bright was lackluster, but Wat's) was pretty good. The plot was bad, they barely touch each other. The side couples and actors were good, but not good enough to make the show worth watching.

Unless you really really REALLY love the whole university BL trope, and don't care for intimacy, (or intend to watch this show on a plane or something), I wouldn't watch it. very lukewarm acting and show. I cannot BELIEVE the rating is so high on Viki.

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Honestly I was expecting a lot more than what was delivered.

Maybe I'm just tired of the same old same old revenge plot but this show really just wasn't fantastic. Predictable plot, flat (and annoying) characters, slow parts, the list goes on.

I thought the acting for the most part was pretty good but there was just too much of the main characters. I kept feeling like there were these great side plots that I was looking forward to watching, but there was so little screen time for other characters that they were all drowned out. The two paralegals (?) or whoever worked in the office with them seemed like characters that had so much potential for side stories and development but the writing just fell flat. I was expecting a little bit of romance (or just something not totally related to the main characters) for one or both of them to happen and it just didn't.

The part that irked me the most about this story was the frankly bad writing that Noh Hwa Young experienced. She seemed too evil to be believable. Why do we hear like NOTHING about her backstory?? It felt like she was extremely one-dimensional for such a main character. I mean I was left with so many questions. (and not in the way that they intended). Why does she want to be high up in the military so badly?? what happened to her finger?? why is there literally zero mention of a father?? how tf did she even raise Noh Tae Nam??? I mean she was just so evil and I kept craving and wanting any sort of big overarching reason of why she is the way she is and it just never came. I was just bothered every time she apperaed on screen. The actress was good though, very evil feeling.

I expected more from Noh Tae Nam. He was truly my favorite character from the get-go. I felt like he wasn't getting enough screen time and his character development was predictable and just boring. It felt like a story that has been told about a million times before. Despite the poor writing, he still was my favorite character. Kim Woo Seok's acting was fantastic, especially the emotional ones.

now, the main characters.
Both annoying. why are they so dead-set on revenge?? what person is like this?? why dont they give up and live a little without being obsessed with their parents deaths? To be fair, they both had their moments where I felt like I really got the characters (when Do Bae Man realized he was a shitty prosecutor and when Cha Wu In beats the shit out of people) I did like the action scenes. I felt like honestly there was too much of them, there was almost no side plot which makes shows very very hard to watch. Also didn't love the romance thing they shoved in at the end. If they were gonna go romance, go all the way. It was predictable and disappointing. The acting was alright for the most part but I just wish their characters were better developed.

My final thoughts: I didn't hate this show, but I will never ever watch or think about it again. There are much better revenge plot stories if that's your thing, and there are much better military stories, if that's your thing. The writers were frankly dogshit and wrote bad characters. If you want to be disappointed (although entertained by the action scenes and every time we saw Noh Tae Nam), you should watch this show.

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The highest quality BL I have ever seen (by far)

This show was actually so incredibly good. The cinematography was absolutely breathtaking, the music was fantastic, and the story was painfully realistic, This is the most I've cried watching a show for a very very long time. It drove me to almost text my ex for the first time in like 6 months!!
I felt that this show reminded me a LOT of "call me by your name", which was my absolute favorite movie for a long time.
To call it a romance would be a stretch, so I see why people expecting something cute and wholesome would be disappointed. It is truly a coming-of-age show.
The acting from all of the characters was great. They didn't ignore details like small expressions and longing looks. Something that sets it apart from other Thai BLs is that the intimate scenes were truly made for the characters. It's like you can tell that they weren't made to turn on the people watching, but to help the characters explore their sexuality. It makes more sense when you watch it lol.
I don't know much about cinematography and stuff like that, but I can tell this filming was absolutely top notch. Looking forward to watching season two!!
Perhaps the reason I loved this so much was because of my circumstances. I watched it on vacation in Mallorca, the summer after my last year of high school, around 5 or 6 months since leaving my first love.
Even if I was watching this another time or if I was another person, I think I would still love it.

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Interesting premise, bad execution.

I honestly do not understand all of the 10 star reviews this show got! I mean sure, it was pretty good, but the plot line and characters fell flat and undeveloped.

It felt like the "rich vs poor" trope was used in a shallow, plot-convenient way. Like why do we never actually get into the
awfulness of Torfun's death? We just glossed over the fact that the dad bought his kid's way to the top of the heart transplant list? There was a truly half-hearted effort on Tian's part of trying to get justice for Torfun. At no point in the plot does Tian even consider trying to change how rich people can pay their way to just about anything in Thailand. He never even contacts the friend that killed Torfun with his car. It was mentioned like once that his parents paid his friend out of jail. He makes no real effort to even face the injustice head-on. He barely acknowledges these facts and yet we are supposed to support the "redemption arc" of this guy? He (sort of) kills this woman, steals her literal heart, steals her job, steals her home, steals her journal, and most of all steals her (sort of) boyfriend?? How is this justice? At what point does he redeem himself? Sure, I liked Tian's character, he was likable, but he did not even attempt any sort of real justice. I believed his heart was in the right place, but that just isn't enough for a redemption.

So, we established this show isn't here to get justice. Sure, whatever, not everything has to be so deep and hard-hitting. So how was the romance? nonexistent. It was barely a bromance until like the last 20 minutes of the last episode. I didn't get any sort of attraction between the to main characters! Honestly, I really thought that Phupha was straight for the entire series. I'm still not convinced he even likes boys. I at least thought that Tian's character was pretty good and multidimensional enough, but Phupha was maybe the FLATTEST and least interesting main character I have ever seen! We learn almost nothing of his backstory, nothing about his feelings, nothing about his supposed grief for Torfun. He felt like a completely fictional character. He embodied all of the stereotypical stoic big man ideals so perfectly that they actually forgot to give him a personality! While I didn't find Earth's acting to be particularly bad, he never really delivered the idea that his character actually liked Tian for the entirety of the show. No chemistry whatsoever. I think Earth did what he could, but bad writing just can't be overcome.

They also made the choice to set this in some sort of fantasy world that never mentions the word "gay" or coming out or experiencing homophobia. This in itself isn't always bad, but this is really not the story where this works. It was trying to be hard-hitting and meaningful, yet fantastical and idealistic. They invented this fantasy world that takes place in an impoverished village in northern Thailand? The whole show is about struggling yet they don't want to talk about the struggles that gay people face.

Final thoughts: All of the suffering that the villagers go through is easily solved to further the plot and romance. Even still, the plot and romance managed to be bad. The acting wasn't horrible, the kids were actually really good. There was also wayyy too much product placement. There weren't any clear subplots or side romances. I don't recommend this show to anyone.

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an above-average action show

I binged this show in like 2 or 3 days, the story was extremely gripping and kept me on my toes. In all, it was pretty good. Nothing groundbreaking but solid. I thought the whole superheroes thing was a bit dramatic but also that's on me for picking a superhero show when that's not my usual style.

The only thing really notable is how they included mentally handicapped characters in the show without it being weird or a huge deal. I have never seen another drama do it so gracefully.

The CGI was pretty good, it's Disney after all. I felt like the whole cast had really good acting chemistry as well. They also gave the bad guys backstory and emotions which was a nice touch that's hard to find (although heartbreaking). The plot line made sense for the most part, it was convoluted but not really in a bad way. It was a little slow in some parts but nothing too bad. I really appreciated how it didn't rely on revenge too much in order to make the story happen (my #1 pet peeve in all shows).

NOTE: it was extremely gory. Like maybe the most gore I have ever seen in a show (I have seen some really gross ones). They were really toeing the line between necessary gore and just trying to make the audience vomit.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good action story, especially if you're into superheroes. Would absolutely not recommend to anyone squeamish.

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an actually MEANINGFUL BL! Hard to find!

I was very pleasantly surprised with this show. Something I found with this show compared to many other Thai BLs is the fact that they balanced almost everything really really well. Almost all of the characters were well-rounded, it had a subplot commentary on protesting and justice which was very interesting and also very well thought out, the music was good (!!!), and the romance was good, not too much or too little. The only things I would change is I found the ending to be a little rushed (I heard there was some production budget issues or something), but it wasn't anything too terrible. I also found that some of the characters lacked backstory/felt a little flat.

Another thing I loved about this story!! The female characters weren't annoying!! They weren't just there to bother us!! They felt like real people!!!! With their own lives separate to the main characters!!! very impressive for a BL lmao.

I found the premise really really interesting and this was a very well put together show. Good camera work, good acting, solid plot line, overall very solid. In terms of Thai BLs, the quality of this show is fantastic. I absolutely would recommend.

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It was just alright

Honestly, I was expecting more from this. I was kind of bored the whole time and nothing really seemed "surprising" to me. It felt like there was a lack of build-up and drama. Like I didn't feel like I really cared about the characters enough to get emotionally involved. Maybe the reason that I didn't really love it was because I'm not a huge fan of police shows, but either way,, it was boring. The fight scenes seemed flat... I can't explain how. Maybe because I wasn't super emotionally involved. I thought the actors were pretty good though. The plot could have been better, very predictable (they literally told us how it was gonna end). Honestly, I didn't even have a favorite character, which is very important!!!!!!! The music was very good though, better than most action shows. I don't think you would find anything new of value in a rewatch, I would only rewatch if I found any of the characters particularly hot (which I didn't).
In all, I didn't feel emotionally connected to any of the characters. I think they needed more backstory and reasons for me to care about them. The timing of the show was actually pretty good, along with the acting, but the writing and plot left something to be desired. I did appreciate how many fight scenes and action there was, despite not particularly loving any of the action scenes. I don't recommend it to anyone except for people who really really love police shows.

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solid show with great actors

I binged this show in 2 days!!! I was totally hooked!!! I seriously adored all of the actors, every one of them played their parts really really well (especially the young cast) !!!!!

HOWEVER, I found parts of it a little cliche, I honestly expected a better soundtrack for a show about music, and I didn't like the ending. The ending felt very rushed and like they just wanted to put a bow on top of everything all pretty without doing all the effort to get there. I actually didn't hate the love triangle in this show, I felt the time-travel aspect put enough of a twist on it so it wasn't too cliche. I also sincerely appreciate how the love triangle didn't last for the entire show like many others do. I felt like the plot got a little messy in the fourth quarter, but it was acceptable, there really is no way to make a time travel show not have plot holes and weirdness going on. I also felt like they kind of overdid it with the connections thing, like not everyone has to be connected in weird ways... sometimes people just live unrelated lives.

BUT I still found many many things I loved about this show. I loved how good the actors were and I felt like (as someone who isn't deaf and knows exactly 0 deaf people) it was good representation of deaf people and the struggles they face. I really liked
Ha Eun Gyeol's character arc, and Ryeoun's acting was quite good. He really mastered his character and I felt that he wholly cared only about the others, without a hint of selfishness (for the most part). . I also sincerely loved every single second that Ha Yi Chan was on screen (he's so hot). I felt that Choi Hyun Wook absolutely devoured this role, like there wasn't a single time during the entire length of the show where I felt like his acting was off. Same thing for Shin Eun Soo she absolutely ate up this role and perfectly conveyed her character in every single scene. Seol In Ah's acting was good, but I didn't feel the same greatness that the other actors delivered. I really can't pick anything out in particular that I thought was bad or wrong, but her vibe wasn't quite there as much as the others.

FINAL THOUGTS:
It was definitely worth the watch and I might recommend this to friends and such. It was a fantastic coming of age story and it was very touching. The time travel was much better executed than many other similar shows, and overall I enjoyed this show. I wasn't bored once!!

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Surprisingly good?

I wasn't expecting a whole lot but honestly, this show was actually pretty damn good!

I really enjoyed the romance between the two main characters, I enjoyed all of the side characters, and I honestly just enjoyed the show itself. It was much much deeper than I was expecting especially the main character who was on a sort of self-discovery journey without really knowing it. I am not usually super into the video game fantasy sort of idea but this was well executed for sure. This honestly was one of the best KBL's I have ever watched (although the bar is low). I didn't quite get Chun Sang Won but that didn't really detract from the show. I think I was happy enough just looking at him and didn't actually listen to him lol.

If you are looking for a KBL with video-game esque plot and more self-discovery and youth coming of age than expected, this is the show for you.

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my expectations were low and the show delivered!

the show delivered nothing. My expectations were low and they were met. It was as bland as I expected. Nothing happened in this show. The two main characters were actually pretty good, but I was continually disappointed by the lack of depth in the side characters. It felt like they were just there to look pretty. I think that they literally were there just to look pretty. The love triangle was badly executed and I just finished the show thinking "wow, nothing happened, huh?" If you are looking for a little bit of romance and some hot guys to look at, this is the show for you! If you don't really care about side plots (there is literally no side plot at all) this is also the show for you! I guess it was cute but it wasn't very deep or thoughtful. I enjoyed watching it, however I will never think about this show ever again.

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disappointing, but not horrible.

I liked the actors, but the story was weirdly empty. There are so many seemingly important plot points that should have been explained but just never were. I don't know if it was budget issues but this story totally could have been about double the length it was and been able to dive deeply into the story and answer all these questions that the audience just has to sit with. I still don't really understand what their relationship was (or is) but I thought the actors for the most part did alright with the meh script. Nothing sensational, but I think the actors, the writers, and the director all were good, just didn't exercise their full potential.
meh.

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beautiful story, great acting

I have been wanting to watch this for a long time but put it off because I thought it would be too gritty and heartbreaking. It was gritty and heartbreaking, however there was enough light and happiness in the story to make me want to continue watching. I actually watched the whole show (season one and seasons two) in one sitting!!! I do not remember the last time I was so interested in a show. The story was something that needed to be told and was done so in a very poignant manner. I loved the two main characters (so much!!) honestly all of the actors were great. I sometimes avoid military dramas because they are just so depressing, but I didn't finish this show feeling depressed at all which was good. Usually shows similar to this are just revenge plots with predictable writing and predictable endings. With this show, I truly appreciated the lack of revenge-seeking and I also really enjoyed the (sort of) unpredictable nature of the story. I also loved the length and number of episodes in the season (6 50-minute long episodes; the standard hour-long 16 episode series are just SO LONG). It seemed like at the end of the 6th episode it was cut short, luckily there was a season two lol. With both combined, it feels like a full-length drama with enough detail and explanation

The Bad Parts:
I wish we learned more about the party guy that Jun Ho beat the shit out of in the beginning, it seemed like a sort of strange plot point with not enough explanation. I also felt like the ending was rushed and predictable.

Final thoughts:
I loved the acting and the bromance so much and this show is a fantastic way of getting a heavy story across without making the watchers literally miserable. I loved it so much and I have actually been thinking about this show after I finished it!!!! wow!!!

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a real thought-provoking show

This is definitely one of the best Japanese BLs I've ever seen. The acting was top tier, the story was excellent, it was psychological and a really fun and engaging watch.

Writing: I thought this show was wonderfully written. The dialogue made sense yet didn't reveal too much about what the characters were thinking or feeling. The writers made it the watchers' job to analyze what the characters said and did and interpret that into what they were feeling, instead of just saying it outright or showing it in obvious ways. I found this to be really really engaging, and paired with the fantastic chemistry between the actors, it was a very satisfying watch. However, if you are expecting a romance, that is not what you are going to get from this show. It's a show about manipulation, loneliness, and obsession. The relationship depicted in this show is by no means healthy at all, but it was shown in a more objective way. There was no trying to justify what the characters did and give them a "redemption arc", it was as if we were following real people who are going through character development not through "getting better", but through us, the watchers, learning more about them and their motivations and inner feelings. So in all, it does feel as if the characters go through significant changes and development (which they do), but it isn't in a way that feels like "the right thing to do" to make a satisfying ending. Honestly, the only thing I didn't like about the plot was the ending. I thought it was too happy for this story! I don't think I have ever complained about a happy ending in my whole life, but it felt like the whole plot was leading to a different ending than what we actually got. I really wasn't expecting them to stay in touch. I feel like a better ending would be how the last episode went with them making up and him coming 6 times, then they never speak again. I think this relationship would be better as a memory for both of them - the story felt very suspended from reality, that I think it should have stayed in that dream-like disconnect in their memories. But hey, there's a reason that I don't write the scripts for these shows.

Acting: the chemistry was outstanding. The sex scenes were all fantastic (honestly I was expecting more sex from a show called "The Pornographer", however, there is still PLENTY of sex.) All of the characters played their roles absolutely flawlessly. Surprisingly, the side character, Kido, was fantastic! First of all, he was absolutely hot as fuck walking in there with his deep voice and dark eyes, but second of all, I was completely immersed in the story when he was acting. There wasn't a single scene that he didn't do perfectly. Our main couple was also fantastic. I was completely immersed for the entire show. Really, the only part that I found distraction was just the inner monologue coming from Kuzumi because I thought his voice sounded weird and dramatic, but that's pretty typical for Japanese shows. The acting wasn't over the top, and Takezai Terunosuke especially played his part perfectly. I just kept thinking to myself, wow this dynamic between the older guy and the younger guy is just played perfectly. This is honestly how (in my limited experience) age gaps work in real life. When Kijima would laugh at Kuzumi's naivety, when Kuzumi would offer to do something like making the coffee and Kijima would allow him without the "oh no!! I got it!! don't bother!!!" - back and forth that usually happens in real life when doing a favor, etc etc etc, this all felt very real and perfectly executed. I also thought that Kuzumi had the exact right amount of shyness. It wasn't so overly shy where you get annoyed, but he wasn't so open that it was boring.

Music: I actually noticed the music in this show, and I thought it was all very fitting and sounded good. It wasn't over or underused.

Rewatch value: I would actually rewatch this (I really don't rewatch shows), but this one is short enough and deep enough where a second watch would add even more meaning to the story, catching details I might have missed in the first watch.

random note - this show almost felt like reading a book in a way. I can't describe why or how it just does. I'm assuming that whatever they did to make it feel book-like was on purpose, because it's about writing books.

If you are looking for an actual book recommendation that is weirdly very very similar in vibe to this show, read "A Single Man" by Christopher Isherwood. I read that book like more than a year ago and it kept reminding me of random details about that story that I hadn't thought about probably since I put the book down right after I finished reading. The vibe is honestly spot on. It looks like there is a movie based off this book as well (called "A Single Man", it even has good reviews), but I haven't watched it, so can't say if the vibe matches or not.

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Not at all what I expected but very heartwarming show

I just finished this show and WOW. I am sobbing rn. (no spoilers)

The acting coming from the two main leads was amazing. This is the first Chinese show I've ever watched and I didn't realize that it was going to be so tame (compared to Taiwan's BLs) I understand it's like the governments fault but I was definitely disappointed with the lack of kissing etc. Despite the lack of making out, their chemistry was FANTASTIC! I am really really impressed with how obvious their love and attraction was without those scenes. The looks they give each other, the little cheek kisses--everything!!!

Also, loved duo so much. I didn't know where else to put this in the review but she is a fantastic character loved every single thing she did or said.

To be honest, I was expecting a show that focuses on their romance and drama, but this isn't it. In reality, this show is about finding family and growing up/coming of age. I was really impressed by the plot however. This plot was one of the best I think I have ever seen. I loved the development at the beginning of the show from strangers to rivals to kind of friends and then more... It felt very realistic. The timing of everything was phenomenal, it wasn't too focused on the main leads, there was good side plots and sub plots, there was most importantly, an ENDING THAT I COULDN'T PREDICT AT ALL. Not to brag or anything, but until this day, my guessing the ending to shows win rate was 100%. Now it's at a crisp 99.9% unfortunately.

Some things I didn't like about the show: I honestly didn't like any of the music. Fortunately, I feel like music doesn't really have a HUGE impact on a show's value, so it's easy to look past. And it's not like I just hate all Chinese singing like there are plenty of Taiwanese shows that I think have good music but this just is not it. I did like that one song they had in English though lol.
Another nitpick but the clothing was really throwing me off and kind of lifting the illusion. Nobody is convinced they dressed like that in 2006. All those clothes were modern... honestly, If they had replaced those Nokias with iPhones I would have thought this took place in 2023.
I thought that some of the acting could have been better on the part of the dad (Yang Shuo/Su Zhi Gang).. also why did they never really address the lottery tickets? Chekhov's gun?

So final thoughts on this show. Not at all what I was expecting, much more subtext-based than actual relationship. However, this made it feel so much more realistic. I really loved following their journey growing up and learning more about themselves and each other and the world and.. coming of age <3. This is a series I will definitely remember and think about at least a few more times after this.

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