A coming of age LGBTQ+ story, less of of a BL
I had already watched a lot of BLs before seeing ITSAY, and I was already late to the party because I saw ITSAY in January 2023 (soon after Viki released it). I immediately saw that it was unlike the BLs I had seen before, more of a coming of age LGBTQ+ story about two boys in Phuket. I immediately fell in love with the scenery, the MCs and the rest of the cast, esp. Bas and Hoon. These two were the perfect support for our two MCs whose lives were undergoing such momentous changes.Having seen several lakorns, what struck me about ITSAY were the understated motions, subtle eye & facial movements, the softly spoken word. Then, we are treated with incredible cinematography and the corresponding music. My heart was all over the place with sadness, joy, laughter, angst, anger.
I get that Teh and Oh are imperfect characters. That's what makes them interesting and relatable to me. At that age, I was similarly selfish & selfless, wanting intimacy & dreading vulnerability and was loving & insufferable. Just Like Teh and Oh, I was a contradiction unto myself.
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Writing to raise the criminally low ratings
ERM 8.2 for this masterpiece?? NOT ON MY WATCH.ITSAY is a classic, a must-watch ThaiBL for good reason. It has heart wrenching and artistic scenes with gorgeous cinematography. It makes you feel and then go numb after simply because you fall into post-drama depression. It is a true masterpiece in terms of acting, music, cinematography which is EXTREMELY rare to find in ThaiBLs.
The only reason ITSAY gets 9.5/10 and not 10/10 is cos I'm anal and refuse to believe anything can be perfect (Although ITSAY, honestly is to closest thing to perfection imo)
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Refreshing change
Excellent BL drama and a refreshing change in the genre, delving deep into the psyches of teenagers and love, with all its complexities.The angst and heartache are brutal and takes one back to those years when we too experienced the same feelings.
I admit to being a little frustrated with the character of Teh - felt like giving him a kick up the backside at times but he was going through some major stuff himself, with emotions all over the place. In fact I actually felt so much empathy for the character.
Brilliant acting, great location shots. Wholeheartedly recommend this one.
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una obra de arte !!
La historia es hermosa, sensible, es impresionante como todo hace que conectes con la historia, los personajes y el ambiente en tan pocos capitulos. Las escenografías y la banda sonora eran simplemente arte, eran llevaderas con la historia. Billkin y PP hicieron un maravilloso trabajo y su conexión es increíble, los admiro verdaderamente mucho y espero que puedan seguir trabajando juntos por mucho tiempo más.Ya hace mucho tiempo que ví esta serie y aún recuerdo cada detalle, puedo verla de nuevo y todavía sentir las mismas emociones que la primera vez.
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love of my life
i told sunset about you has my whole heart and it was my first bl drama ever, definitely a good start. incredible series with incredible acting and portraying emotions. the documentary is as good as the show so i think it's a need to watch it after! last twillight in phucket is also very good but we better don't talk about i promised you the moon. i'm very attached to characters and i wish poeple will understand teh more. it's one of my all-time favourites, worth watching!!Was this review helpful to you?
Overrated...
As much as I was excited to watch it, I was disappointed after it. I've watched 5 episodes and all 5 was maybe once a week? I found it so boring, I kept scrolling past it, somehow it didn't hit me as much as everyone is saying. I told sunset about you as the top 1 bl is kinda overrated for me... Do you think I should give it a second chance?Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Amazing Story Overall
I really liked this. The themes portrayed in this were very good but I'll keep this review short. It was a great drama and I liked Teh's character, he was complex but I understood why he did what he did the only part I didn't like was the end he gave up his spot for Oh-aew which is cute when you think about it but very reckless. Because of his continuous reckless actions throughout the story, he lost his spot at the uni of his dreams. I can't help but say I'm a bit disappointed. But overall it was a good emotional watch and I really liked it.Was this review helpful to you?
I told sunset about you
This series was amazing. The acting. The story. The way you can watch it over and over and it still feel fresh. The music.The music in this series was amazing and I still have it on my playlist to this day. The acting was well done and they really made the viewers understand how they felt in the situations. The story was very unique and interesting.
Definitely a 10/10 and would recommend for anyone as their first bl. Not only was it a bl but the plot explored more than just that and just didn't stick around the bl factor and made the whole series based on that. It had amazing plot not only for the main characters but also for each and every support character and guest role.
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Just perfect.
I started this series because of reviews I had read previously, and wow, I definitely did not expect this much of a masterpiece.The main thing I liked about this series is that the main storyline is very spaced out, keeping you on edge until their first kiss, with lots of beautifully portrayed scenes of confusion, betrayal, jealousy, anger, and lust in between. Unlike other dramas I have watched, it doesn’t seem rushed or undeveloped, which allows for a lot of character development and an understanding of their feelings.
The amount of butterflies I got while watching this is seriously unmatched! The tension and pure emotion between these two actors is really unbeatable.
However, prepare to be severely frustrated while watching this… like I said before, this storyline is quite spaced out, and it is an friends to enemies to lovers storyline, meaning that sometimes the characters make decisions which make you want to scream at them through the screen! (I for sure did…).
AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE CINEMATOGRAPHY. The shots in this series are absolutely gorgeous and are extremely visually pleasing. The colour grading is gorgeous and the shots really show the true beauty of Thailand.
Overall, this is an excellent series, and is a beautiful coming-of-age story of youth and finding out who you are. It certainly lives up to its hype, and definitely deserves all of the awards it’s gotten. Beautiful storyline, acting, visuals, music, and cinematography. Just perfect.
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I think this one has ruined other BLs for me. It's too perfect.
Where do I start with this? I was putting off watching this because everyone talked it up so much, and I have been let down by some of the most raved about BLs (looking at you, Bad Buddy). Now I can't believe I didn't watch this sooner. This drama is perfect, it's reductive to just place it as a BL because it is legitimately one of the most beautiful things I've ever watched, period.The cinematography and music is just breathtaking. The music ALONE in some parts made me cry (episode 5!!!!). The two lead actors - how is this their first major work?! Both of them are incredible and make you feel what they are feeling often just through expressions without any words at all. The intimacy expressed in small gestures seemed more intimate than some of the NC scenes in other dramas.
Billkin (Teh) is SO good in particular. You can see in his eyes as he moves between the blurred lines of the intimacy of a best friend, and the intimacy of a lover. The confusion we feel when we are too young and inexperienced to know the difference. The confusion of not yet knowing what you like, let alone what you want.
Instead of just mindless fluff (which I do love, it has its time and place) this is one of the only BLs out there that actually captures the feelings of falling in love for the first time, with all of its awkwardness and mixed emotion. This is an honest representation of coming-of-age, with its messiness and often bad communication, when we are just too young and confused to know how to approach things.
And, as an LGBTQ person, I really admired a realistic portrayal of someone realizing they are not straight in a realistic and identifiable way. Not just waking up someday with the realization, or "I'm only gay for this person" but a slow and gradual build that may or may not be triggered by a specific person or interaction. The fear and nervousness of rejection from your family and peers. So often this is glossed over in BLs as being too "heavy" but it is an honest part of growing up and really touching to witness.
Just watch it. But make sure you get your permission slip signed for the feels trip.
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Amazing coconut-scented BL drama: turmoil of emotions, strong possessive friendship and more...
This BL series is a simple romance between two former friends turned rivals...The premise sound quite banal but not at all: far from being basic, the love story is super compelling thanks to the context in which the characters are evolving. The internal conflicts are well balanced with some external events. The fact that they are studying Chinese is super interesting and inspiring as well.The writing is solid with maybe some defaults towards the end with a noble idiocy trope which I would have preferred to be avoided. Still it is well in line with a teen angsty mentality...Despite this, I found the plot captivating and I was enraptured by the 5 episodes.
There are so much tension and angst between the two main male leads: they completely captures the viewer's heart. I felt deeply connected to the characters and their budding feelings for each other. The characterization is really well done: watching some scenes, you feel a lot of second-hand embarrassment as well as excitement at the same time. One of the main protagonist is such a jealous, possessive, angsty boy: I loved it and it made so much sense to! Overall both of the main roles are really lovable with their flaws and their needy side in their friendship.
The two main actors had a great chemistry together: there is such a poetry and a longing when they are staring at each other, nothing extravagant, just super sensual. They are super committed and are not afraid to get ugly and dirty to sell the scenes, which I found very commendable. There are so many platonic moments that made my heart rate increase and were super compelling. Such a turmoil of emotion and internalised passion could be seen in the eyes of the actors: they did an amazing job, especially as it was their first time in leading roles.
The directing is beautiful, most of the scenes are shot with purpose and artistry. It is super impressive to see all the little details filmed to nuance the script and show the growing desires between those two young people. The OST is really nice with one specific Chinese song particularly meaningful for the relationship as well as some pretty emotional Thai songs. The overall soundtrack is lovely with sometimes songs without instrumental (and sang in an excellent way by the two actors) or in the contrary some instrumentals without lyrics.
I would strongly recommend this to people looking for a poetic and deep BL teenagers story. It is an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance but so much more than that. It has an artistic vision quite uncommon which leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.
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Masochistic For No Reason
How can I say this, the beginning was promising then episode 4 happened. Oh aew needs to learn to give Teh time to think and resolve his internal conflict first instead of being a pushover. From straight to gay, it takes time to adjust to his new orientation. But what happened was Oh Aew kind of impatient and didn't take NO for an answer. Yes, they both loved each other but you need to give people time to sort everything out. Seriously, not everything will goes your way every single time. Be patient. Oh Aew behaved immaturely and all the unnecessary masochistic drama occurs because of this. Could be a 10/10 drama but they just overdid it in episode 4.Lastly, excessive use of instagram for no reason. What's up with Thai BLs and their obsession with media social?
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