Love by Chance

Love By Chance is really great. I love how the story goes fast and very makes you bored. I also love how the perspective switches per person but also per couple. I do think that there is a lot of affection but it gives the viewer what they want. Some scenes would be unnecessary tho. One of the couples I really don't understand and their story confuses me. There are some inappropriate parts tho so please watch out. Its worth watching overall. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to watch a fast-pace drama and a boy love drama. I cant wait for the next episode!!!!

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When I watched the first episode I knew it was a good series so until now I'm still waiting every episode and it never disappoint me....each episodes make my heart beat faster and faster... This is the first bl series I love and excited to watched the character pete and ae is my favourite couple in this series....the story of this series is different it's shows love never choose who u will love as long your heart want it...listen to your heart not your brain ..your happiness is in your choice and true love is always destined....every time I watched this series it give me hope not to give up that love come by chance. So thank you for making this series ...

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This show is so good! Adorable leads and even the supporting cast I'm in love with. The main couple has chemistry like you won't believe. Honestly, it's torture waiting for the next episode but now that I know this will end I'm having even more anxiety. Its just the right amount of emotional and rom com with a thoughtful script. The other couples too I'm completely in love with, but there was not enough story for Tin Can and the brothers, and a spin off would be amazing because I can't get stop obsessing over these characters. But from all the news I've read so far there's no chance of a sequel. So, that is the bit that ruined it for me. Still, I'm giving it 9 stars for Ae Pete. Another thing that really turned me off was that I was totally shipping Tin Can but Can ugh his disdain for Tin was just borderline homophobic especially combined with the way he totally didn't seem into it when Tin kisses him even though it was completely consentual! And a few minutes ago Can seemed into it. He even spent time thinking about Tin so why this silliness. It totally just ruined the experience for me. So yes, Knock and Korn retain their position at the top because the kind of epic chemistry they have I just don't find anywhere else. But Ae Pete definitely came close.

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ok my english sucks so sorry XD
i really liked this serie, it was so adorable!! haha
sometimes i just couldnt keep watching bc of the awkwardness and i had to stop myself from screaming omg
i just love can x tin pairing! it's so cute and good, too bad they dont have this much screentime but thats ok! pete x ae is also very good! ae and tin are so handsome, and all the boys are so cuuute!! i love how can is getting mad haha
about other pairings... they were ok. i feel so bad for tar!
the music was really cool, accurate for the situation
i hope there will be a second season!
actors played brilliant, especially these kisses... i got goosebumps;;
i would highly recommend love by chance to anyone who likes adorable series and hot actors lmao

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As a watcher of many BL series I will admit this straight out, it's the greatest BL drama I have ever watched. Though many actors are new they are certainly not left behind by those faces we have seen in previous BL series. The most notable, Saint (Pete) and Perth (Ae), the two new acting faces who lead this drama. Their chemistry is undeniable on and off screen, providing viewers with all the "feels". On the other hand our second leads Mean (Tin) and Plan (Can), two faces you may be familiar with from BL series such as Make it Right, take on a more pivotal role in LBC. I won't deny that Mean (Tin) had me taken aback multiple times during intense discussion scenes with Plan (Can). I could literally hear the exact thoughts in his head by the expression on his face, and honestly I was crying inside for most of it.

Overall the story is realistic and genuine, providing us with various situations and events of those in amidst of a relationship. There is no "fantasy" as such, it doesn't skip over all the nitty gritty topics that those new to a relationship discuss, or situations they may encounter early on. For that I have a very deep respect for the script writers, producers and director. LBC goes beyond what is considered just a BL drama. They show us not only the dynamic of those in the relationship, but also the dynamic between their friends, and family, whilst attempting to endeavour on their journey of love.

To those who watch BL series on the regular, you cannot go past this one. For those who just want a good drama, add it on to your "Plan To Watch" list right now.

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I went into this show with high expectations as I had seen a lot of positive reviews about and, overall, I enjoyed it. There were a few moments where I lost the suspense of disbelief, but the story was pretty solid.
There are obvious problems, as there is with every story, but all can be easily ignored and forgotten about.

My main problem was with the acting. (This is constructive criticism! I like all of the actors!) I’ve seen Saint, Pete’s actor, in other things and I just feel like he wasn’t able to capture this character. It felt awkward most of the time and they had him change his voice. Before I watched the show, I Shaw a few people complain because one of the main actors was underage and they were uncomfortable with him having sex scenes. While watching I immediately assumed they were referring to Saint simply because he seemed to be the weaker of the two in the Pete/Ae couple. They were actually referring to Perth, Ae’s actor. I am a really big fan of Perth’s acting. I think Perth has a special talent that all the best actors have as he brings emotion to his roles and makes me feel connected to his characters in a way that other actors can’t manage.

Mean and Plan were also amazing. I love seeing them act together! Mean is a very diverse actor and I always enjoy the way he can bring such different characters to life. Plan is just fun to watch.

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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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Returning to an Old Fave

Writing this review after a rewatch in preparation for Love by Chance 2.
This was hands down my favorite BL for a hot minute and, while it no longer is, it still holds a special place in my heart.
Ae and Pete are still a rockstar coupling two years later. It’s honestly kind of devastating that we will likely never see them together again after the drama between Saint and Perth’s manager. External drama aside, their relationships is healthy and supportive and there is little time spent on miscommunication. They talk through their problems which is more than I can say for a lot of dramas.
I was also a massive fan of TinCan. What can I say? I’m a sucker for the cold, rich boy that falls for the spunky cinnamon roll trope. Bonus points for enemies to lovers. Double bonus points for Tin being totally Whipped for Can. I’ll be excited to see where they go in season 2.
Now, this drama is not without issues. My rewatch definitely had me reflecting on some of the more prominent flaws and plot holes. There are actually 4 couples in this but the two less prominent couples aren’t often talked about (for a good reason). Definitely my biggest concern surrounds Techno and K*ngkla’s relationship, which is toxic at best and an outright crime at its worst. The pseudo incest plotline isn’t great either and it’s literally been done twice.
That being said, I can ignore these flaws for the sweetness that the main story provides. While it’s not the most unique or interesting concept, Love by Chance thrives on AePete and TinCan’s great chemistry.
The OST is also pretty solid, and I believe there’s continuity between season 1 and season 2’s music, which is pretty nice.
There was a great balance of humor to drama, which makes this a fun watch. After all, I considered this my favorite for a long while (we’ve just been spoiled with so many good BL’s, it’s difficult to keep up). Highly recommend to anyone that wants to see great chemistry amount to a satisfying ending.

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I'll start by listing the pros of this drama: some of the characters were nice especially Ae and Pete and this was probably the only couple I was really rooting for. I liked how supportive Pete's mother was and that coming out scene was probably my favourite.
Now for the cons: a sister of Tin (or Can I don't remember who was who xD) was the absolute worse fujoshi, shipping real people and taking photos of them. Absolute bad behaviour which made me want to throw up. I also didn't like the other three couples of the show since there was toxicity in them. One of them were even step brothers! And the other one was just weird, like one slept with the other because he was drunk and then the other was demanding them to date and that he has to take care of him. Toxic awful relationships.

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Only One Reason to Watch .....Perth

Romantic, angst, but misses the mark. This series is a bit better than 'Love by Chance 2' but again, there just is too much of a good thing. Way too many characters and way too many very serious issues that are dealt with so cavalierly. This series tried to do too much with too many people with too many overlapping situations. Sometimes, simple stories work best but this was overly busy and filled with a lot of very unnecessary individuals. Had this story focused on one or even 2 relationships, it would have been tighter, leaning, and a more watchable series. Digressing for a moment, this series does have the one thing in it that would want me to rewatch it. Actually, the only reason. And that is Perth as Ae. He is simply outstanding. He is by far my most favorite actor in any series. He is just a joy to watch. You can read my full review of this series at ppbongi.medium.com. Leave comments if you like.

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GOOD but also very UPSETING !

Overall it´s pretty nice series but sometimes I just wanted to k!ll some of the characters.
I like the relationship between Pete and Ae. They are both so cute and nice, maybe a little bit too much if I´m being honest. I´m not sure if you can find this nice people in real life actually.
The music is like in almost every other TH bl series but actually i didn ´t find it annoying or anything.
And now we are getting to the part where I wanted to k!ll some of the characters...
Does r!ping your friend´s brother seem like a normal thing to do? Because I think it´s absolutely disgusting, even more when you know that your own brother "helped" his friend to r!pe you. The scene was so upseting! Yes I know that not everything is always pretty and nice but I feel like they made the scene to look like it´s not actually that big of a deal and that is so sad.
Also omg...i forgot their names but it was ig Type and the other guy ( sorry i forgot ) who was r!ped ( different guy than the guy i mentioned before ). Like okay but like what was this shit? I mean they are brothers and Type fell in love with him? Sweet home Alabama lmao. I know, they are stepbrothers but even tho... Also the one scene where Type started to assaulting him? Oh gosh, no words for that.
Also I want to mention Tin and Can´s relationship. I think we all can agree on the fact that we wanted them to be the "haters to lovers" from the beggining right? Well...it did go that way, but the end? OH GOD!! Tin got pretty bad life, doesn´t he? Well, they decided to ruin him completely by being "friend zoned" lmao. It´s not even funny...I´m laughing tghrough the pain lol.
Anyways Imma about to watch the ?second season? which should be about Tin and Can i guess? So i believe that they will have happy ending now :>
( also yes, i know that not everytime it´s a good ending...i mean in real life you also have more chance for bad ending than the good but it like really made me sad and upset this time )
btw. rewatch value have 6 stars just because of Tin and Can :)))

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For the record, I based my review mostly on AePete because they're the main couple, and the show spends most of it building their relationship.

With that being said, Ae is probably my favorite character in a BL (don't listen to me; I have more favorite characters than there are babies in China) but seriously: he's so open and honest and he doesn't give a damn what others say about him. That kind of strong character is important for someone like Pete, who's very docile and reclusive. I don't believe in the saying "opposites attract," but this is a case of: my weakness is their strength, and they grow from it. It's honestly a wonderful, heart-felt story all together.

And the acting? THE ACTING. In case you didn't know, Saint (Pete) is ANYTHING but shy in real life (he's actually mischievous and playful) with Perth (Ae) being the shy one of the two, and I think that makes this drama that much more amazing because you would NEVER guess that with how great their acting is. if you watch this show because of nothing else, watch it for AePete.

TinCan. Tin-freaking-Can. I know they have their own story in the book (and it's has a better ending) and (now) I know they're having a second season, but, before, when I watched this, I had NO idea I would love them as much as I did. Honestly. Like Can, Tin pissed me off SO BADLY that I cheered when Can hit him. BOTH TIMES. I was like, "Hit him again." But then, also like Can, I was won over slowly, and my eyes opened to what Tin was a person, and I hate him for making me love him if you wanna know the truth.

The acting for these two is just as impressive as Perth and Saint, honestly. Mean (Tin) has a good talent for showing emotions on his face, and it hurts THAT MUCH MORE. And Plan (Can)--I mean, I've loved Can since his Make It Right days, so I'm a bit biased, but he's also a great actor.

Because it needs to be said even though their storyline isn't as intertwined: I don't like Kengkla and Techno. I love Techno as a character (I literally adore his ditzy, air-headed personality), but I think he deserves better than Kengkla. Kengkla was manipulative, forceful, and just downright NOT a good person, and it actually made me feel bad for the naive Techno. I know they have their own story (and the book is translated into English, fun fact), but I can't get past the rape, and make NO mistake: it was rape. And it's downright distasteful, especially when you have Tar's story in here revolving around why rape is TRAUMATIZING.

Tar (Earth, whom I love as na actor as well) and Tum's story wasn't as... filled out as I had hoped, so I can't say too much about them. I originally liked that the story was trying to touch on something as important and TRAUMATIZING as rape since I have watched BLs where people just look RIGHT PAST IT like it's nothing, but I felt like they could've expanded it more and given Tar more time throughout the story to grow (which I understand the reason he didn't is because the book for TumTar isn't out yet to my knowledge, but still). With the stupid KengklaTechno storyline, however, Tar's story seemed washed out.

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