Love Stage!!

One Of The BL Hidden Gem

Love Stage is definitely an underrated BL series, and honestly, I found it really interesting. The plot was fun, and the execution wasn’t bad at all. I actually stumbled upon it through recommendations on MDL, and I’m so glad I gave it a shot.

I was surprised by the low ratings, though. I’ve watched hundreds of BL series (almost hitting my 200th now!), and trust me—there are way worse shows out there with higher scores. At this point, I’ve learned not to rely too much on reviews or ratings.

📝 The Story

The story revolves around a mistaken identity from a childhood commercial shoot. Ryou, a famous actor, believes he was paired with a little girl 10 years ago—when in reality, it was Anda, a boy. He’s been holding onto that memory, waiting to reunite… and when he does, well, the rest is history. It's a light, warm, and cute storyline with enough charm to keep you watching.

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🎭 The Characters

Ryou
He’s been in the spotlight since he was a kid, and I love how his character develops. He falls for Anda fairly quickly without the usual inner drama about sexuality. No long-winded crisis—just straightforward feelings, which I found refreshing. Bonus points for the way the show touches on his curiosity about yaoi and BL novels—it felt relatable and fun.

Anda
Coming from a super famous showbiz family, Anda's been pushed to act, even though it’s not his thing. He actually has stage fright and really wants to draw manga. He starts off a bit childish and insecure, but he gradually grows into himself, which I appreciated.

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❤️ Chemistry & Side Plots

Kao and Turbo’s chemistry is great, though I wish their intimate scenes felt more natural. They looked a bit stiff, like they weren’t completely comfortable yet. Hopefully, they’ll improve if they do another series together.

As for the side couple—honestly, their storyline felt rushed. From episodes 1 to 6, they barely interact romantically, and then suddenly in episode 7, they’re all sweet and even sleep together? It felt kind of random but also funny in its own way, lol.

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🙄 Other Thoughts

I wasn’t a fan of Anda’s brother at first. He came off way too controlling, almost like a parent. I get that he’s supposed to be protective, but his character was a bit over-the-top. Thankfully, he gets better later on with some decent development.

One downside: the English subtitles are pretty rough in parts—especially in episode 10, part 3. Some lines didn’t even make sense, and I feel like I missed a key plot reveal because of it.

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🌟 Final Thoughts

Love Stage gives us a sweet and grounded story about a celebrity falling in love with someone "ordinary"—who also happens to be the same gender. I liked how it touched on the pressure from toxic fans and the idea that celebrities are human too and deserve to love whoever they want.

Despite the iffy subtitles and a rushed ending, I genuinely enjoyed this series. If you’re into cute romances with a bit of chaos, give this one a shot!

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cute updated version of the manga

this is definitely not a play by play of the manga, but that’s not a bad thing.

anyone who read this growing up knows this manga was pretty toxic and unhealthy relationship wise. this kept the overall premise of a boy from a superstar family and the rising star actor who falls for him with much less blatant homophobia, abuse, SA, and violence. they switched the focus to be on coming out and having a public relationship rather than getting the shy boy into the acting world where his family wants him.

the relationships are more sweet and less sexualized than in the manga but so much healthier. the only thing about that is it felt like they didn’t develop very far. they focus so hard on being accepted that it didn’t seem like they really even got to know each other much or do too much dating.

the parents are also much healthier and less blatantly neglectful and stupid than in the manga but it also feels like they don’t use that awareness to speak to their kids seriously about their relationships.

it’s cute. the pairs do well. the elder brother and manage pairing was my favorite in the manga and I wish I’d seen more of them, as those actors seemed to have more natural chemistry. not a bad fluffy show but too short to do much with the characters

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An Adaptation of Love Stage Manga

B (Student): Anda
T (Actor): Reo

The storyline closely mirrors the manga, maintaining fidelity to the original material by preserving the characters and their personalities. However, the adaptation stumbles in its attempt to replicate the manga's essence, resulting in somewhat exaggerated performances that, while possibly effective in a non-adapted context, feel slightly forced.

Unfortunately, the adaptation falls short of capturing the charm that made the manga successful. A notable drawback is the lead actor's portrayal of the main character, whose cross-dressing role appears less convincing due to perceived discrepancies in physical appearance. This incongruity contributes to a somewhat awkward viewing experience.

In essence, while the adaptation remains faithful to the source material, it struggles to recreate the magic of the manga, with exaggerated acting and casting choices hindering the seamless translation of the concept to the screen.

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Not bad but not great

It's hard to rate this because on the one hand it was a bit of a mess as far as the story went but on the other hand, I still found myself entertained enough to keep watching.

There were a few plot holes left open and some of the timeline doesn't fit right which I think is more of an editing problem than a writing or acting issue. Continuity could sometimes make or break a series and in this case, it certainly didn't do it any favors.

Although, with that being said, the acting could have been better for a few of the cast. (I do have to thank whoever first mentioned they watched shows at 1.5 speed because that really helped.) There were a lot of times where someone was standing there as if they forgot it was their turn to speak and yet the director just said "Keep rolling" anyway. Although the director certainly knew how to best showcase Film's.. ahem.. assets to full potential. Honestly, I liked Thee and Jet's relationship better than the main couple.

I can't really see myself watching this again although I am glad to have given it a shot. If nothing else, it was a cute, mindless story to spend a day binge watching.

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Light and cute....don't take it seriously.

This series is from an anime also called Love Stage! I've read the anime years ago and I remember it was cute. Like many yaoi manga, you have to overlook some things that might be a little problematic. However, with this live action it was actually pretty cute! It went better than I expected....was it perfect? No. I wish some actors were better and the dialog had more dept, but it was a fun 10 ep series.

PLOT: One of the top actors in Thailand, Ryou, is still in love with this little girl he met 10 years ago while shooting a commercial when he was young. On the a 10th year anniversary of that commercial, he is asked to do another one. Ryou saw as an opportunity to meet the girl of his dream again after a decade. But, little does he know that the little girl...is not a girl at all! Anda, a guy that was born into a famous family, only wants to be a cartoonist...but since he was a kid his parents force him to be in the entertainment business. That's how he met Ryou all those years ago. But, Anda was force to reprise his role of a girl once again...deceiving Ryou one more time. BUUUUUT...that's where the story starts and a lot happens after that lolol.

ACTORS / CHARACTERS: Most of the characters in the live action were written pretty similar to the anime...that was nice to see. I'll only talk about the ones that stood out for me. (this is already long enough lol)

- Anda (Turbo): I guess he's a fairly new actor....I haven't seen him before. He is a tiny little thing lol super cute tho. But I could see he's a newbie. Didn't quite sell the character...in some scenes he was really good, but some it was a little rough. I guess I was a little put off by all those ups and downs.

- Ryou (Kaownah): I've seen his work before in TharnType (Lhong)...it was solid. You won't recognize him here...which is what I love! He knows how to develop a character better and tell a story. I hated Lhong (as we all did) lolol and in Love Stage you can't help but fall in love with him...so yeah. Job well done!

- Ae, Bank's manager: I don't know the actress's name but OMG she was so annoying! It was really bad! She screamed and acted completely insane 95% of her screen time....that was a horrible choice. Why? So so so bad. Probably the worst acting I've even seen lol

Silly but fun. I won't watch again....but some episodes pulled my hart string a little. Cute.

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Nope. Not worth watching

This story had potential, but it was doomed from the first episode. The acting is super bad by practically everyone that has screen time. It is truly painful to watch at times, especially since the cinematography doesn't add much to the look and it is done poorly for some scenes which just makes it all unbearable. The writing also leaves much to be desired, as some of the things are just cringy, not cute, just cringy. These was also very little chemistry between all the characters which just made it even worst. The opening made me wonder what kinda family he has to literally set him up to a level which basically equated to pimping him out to the medium bidder. I mean the entire family manipulated him and slept comfy at night knowing they renting him out. That is a mess.

Hey, but at least Ryo was handsome and he could hold his own in his scenes.

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Could have been better

Overall it was not that bad.
The last episodes are a bit too serious considering it's a comedy. I prefer more serious content to be honest, but having watched the anime years ago I know it's supposed to be a comedy.
The leads have nice chemistry, not as much as other BL couples, but they pass.
I didn't like the non consensual kissing. A little peck would have been more acceptable.
Outside the plot and content, what annoyed me most visually was the amount of make up put on Kaownah. I've already seen him on TharnType and I don't think he needs that much. Seeing some imperfections is better that seeing such cakey make up.

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uma boa adaptação com muita fofura

bem eu já tinha visto o anime primeiro e amava, quando vi que teria um bl tive que conferir e não é que fizeram um bom trabalho?! (faltava dois eps para mim terminar, vi no lançamento e não sei o que aconteceu que fiquei enrolando para termina-lo mas finalmente consegui)

o elenco principal realmente está bem adaptado ao personagens do anime, tirando o fato dos cabelos coloridos mas isso já e querer demais... e não acho que ficaria bom também.

anda é muito lindo e fofo ficava encantado o tempo todo e o ryou simplesmente perfeito tirando a química dos dois que realmente é de se admirar e bater palmas, tem momento hot que fiquei chocado que eles entregaram tudo e mais um pouco.

a historia e sem enrolação e muito direta e sempre tá acontecendo algo isso me fez gostar ainda mais do bl, tirando os figurinos que estão maravilhosos e as músicas também são bem colocadas e bem bonitas apenas elogios sobre esse bl

recomendo para quem gosta de uma coisa soft e fofa com química.

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Moins bon que le manga

Cette critique est fortement influencée par mon amour de l’anime et du manga. J’ai dévoré l’histoire originale, donc j’avais d’immenses attentes en commençant la série. Malheureusement, cette adaptation n’arrive pas à la cheville de son prédécesseur.

L’histoire est tout de même bien respectée. Les changements qu’ils ont faits sont bien pensés, comme l’ajout de moments TheeJet, l’inclusion de Bank (Non Ratchanon), etc. Néanmoins, le côté Otaku de Anda (Turbo Chanokchon) est presque passé aux oubliettes. C’est ce que je préférais avec le personnage original, donc j’ai été déçu de le voir moins impliqué dans sa passion. Son rêve d’être mangaka aussi n’a pas été correctement développé. Contrairement à sa version animée, Anda est conscient de ne pas posséder de talent.

J’ai bien aimé les acteurs choisis pour interpréter les rôles. Turbo arrive a donné un côté mignon et enfantin à Anda, malgré quelques maladresses d’interprétation. De son côté, j’avais connu Kaownah Kittipat dans TharnType et j’ai d’abord été content de le retrouver en tête d’affiche. Cependant, son personnage ne m’a pas vraiment marqué. Il lui manquait quelque chose. D’ailleurs, Anda avait bien plus de chimie avec Bank, au point où je trouve qu’ils auraient formé un couple plus intéressant. Ils semblaient bien plus proches que le duo principal.

Si dans l’anime Rei et Shougo étaient mon couple favori, Thee (Film Jirayu) et Jet (Tawan Nawinwit) ont été encore plus mignons. J’ADORE ce couple. S’ils avaient été les principaux de la série, j’aurais passé un bien meilleur moment à la visionner, car j’attendais leurs scènes avec impatience. Les acteurs avaient une belle chimie, les personnages étaient drôles, intéressants et j’ai aimé chacune de leur apparition. Il n’aurait pas pu y avoir de meilleurs acteurs pour ces rôles.
Je n’ai pas du tout aimé l’intrigue de la fin. Les disputes qui se produisent toujours dans le dernier ou l’avant-dernier épisode me donnent mal à la tête. Ça n’a pas apporté grand-chose à l’histoire. À un moment, ils m’ont perdu. J’ai l’impression qu’ils ont manqué d’inspiration. Pourtant, il y avait tellement de choses à développer et de trucs à faire.

Le personnage de la manageuse de Bank m’a tellement énervé qu’à elle seule, elle a fait chuter ma note de façon drastique. OK, ils voulaient un méchant, mais était-ce nécessaire de mettre un méchant aussi mal joué? Franchement, on aurait dit une caricature. Elle riait sans raison, ses agissements étaient exagérés et il n’y avait rien d’intéressant avec elle. Chacune de ses apparitions faisait chuter la qualité de la série.

Bref, ce n’était pas mauvais comme adaptation, mais je conseille aux gens de plutôt aller voir l’anime et de lire le manga. Cependant, si vous voulez juste admirer les scènes de Thee et de Jet, foncez.

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A química de milhões

Já tinha lido o mangá vários anos atrás, foi um dos primeiros mangás BL que li, então estava bem nostálgica pra essa série e gostei bastante. Não foi exatamente fiel ao mangá, mas acho que a liberdade artística que usaram favoreceu a série, talvez se tivessem seguindo à risca a obra original não tivesse funcionado e para mim a série funcionou bastante. É divertida, muito boa pra passar o tempo, Kaownah e Turbo tem uma química incrível, os beijos deles são lindos, eles são um show a parte. A história não é lá essas coisas todas, mas a do mangá também não é kkkkk mas os casais sustentam bastante com química e carisma. O casal secundário sempre foi meu favorito e aqui continuou sendo. Casal hot demais, mais maduro e com muita química.

Outra coisa é que, tirando o P'Tee, as personalidades dos personagens são levemente diferentes em relação ao mangá e eu gostei muito disso, posso até dizer que simpatizei mais com todos aqui do que no original, inclusive o Izumi (Anda) é meio sonso no mangá e eu não gosto muito e aqui ele ta com mais atitude, Ryou ta super fofo e o Jet no mangá é super c* doce e neurótico e eu gostei bastante dele na série.

O que eu realmente não gostei da série foi o plot do Bank e da empresária dele, todas as cenas dela eram insuportáveis e gordofóbicas, com uma tentativa falha de fazer humor e isso me estressou um pouco.

Fora isso, não entendo o porquê da nota aqui estar tão baixa, a série foi divertida, entregou química, cenas hot como raramente se vê e eu super amei a música que a banda do P'Tee canta no último episódio.

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