Too many twists and turns
Watching Bangkok Boy felt like riding a tuktuk on the streets of Bangkok, weaves around trying to get to the destination. The edgy drama just became overwhelming that I really didn’t know who to root for. I felt the relationship of the main character wasn’t fully developed and just rushed. I don’t mine a bait and switch storyline but there just too much switching I couldn’t keep up. Keep that edgy for at but please allow the viewer to absorb and focus and get engaged. As the saying goes “if you lost me at hello…you lost me forever”Was this review helpful to you?
Very Unique Story
I really enjoyed this BL. Many didn’t like that it lacked romance but I’d say the opposite. SunPeace’s love was shown throughout the BL and you don’t go rescue someone and risk your life for someone you don’t love. With everything airing right now if folks want a complete romance it’s out there for them. The plot really stuck with me and I liked how it went over things such as drugs, violence, gangs, and even the GL plot was executed really well. What made this great is that it focused on the plot. On the lives of all of the characters and the decisions they had to make to survive poverty. Trying to add too much romance to it wouldn’t make this as believable to me. I really like how things were set up for season 2 and we know Kong is alive but I want to know how that will affect SunPeace since that’s who I stand with. I really hope this doesn’t get shelved. They can take their time on this as long as we get quality like with this season. The cast did so well and the action really had me on the edge of my seat. We don’t really see this in BL executed well and that is one thing I really appreciated about this BL. I recommend folks to watch it with an open mind because to me this is the BL of the year and I pray we get a season 2 equally as good. Also Aim being alive shocked me. The actor Aon is so talented. Lastly one weakness of the show was I’d say the Korean and Thai speaking. I understand it from Si Hyeon but I think they should’ve just made him full Korean and his dad should’ve been Korean. It was weird at times hearing the dad speak and also Si Hyeon speak in Korean and a character reply in Thai when we know realistically that isn’t possible. Maybe English should’ve been used or a better alternative for everyone.Was this review helpful to you?
Plot twist until the end, a love to be treasured in a dark place underground world
Advantages:+ fast plot, not long-winded, if you watch without missing any details, you will see the plot is as tight as Korean movies
+ extremely good chemistry, very little dialogue but every scene is good, the director did not intentionally zoom in on the face, on the contrary, he also knew how to choose the angle to remove the slightly cringe details to save the actors 😂😂😂
+ good acting, very few scenes that make you frown because of the cringe acting
+ fight scenes are very real, because the actors have actually thrown fists at each other's faces some times, not intentionally slow down, know which scenes to emphasize, not trying to act cool
+ lots of deeply embedded details (South Korean ideology, Chinese restaurant, Peace's painting for Sun 😂😂😂)
Disadvantages:
+the movie color is too headache 😂😂😂
+lots of sudden cut scenes, there are important details of the two main characters that cannot push the audience's emotions up but are left stunned (episode 6, episode 8, episode 11)
+dubbing episode 1 is too cringe 😂😂😂
+the love line of the side couples is too vague
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A solid action-packed series
The storyline delivers on its promises: action, twists, and enemies betraying each other left and right. There's never a dull moment!The acting isn't amazing, but since the plot is engaging enough, it doesn't really matter.
The final episode is full of twist after twist, making for a great conclusion. Season two coming soon?
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Not bad- just not my style
i watched just to cross it off my list- i had head good comments about it so i was excited. Most episodes were skipped, personally id like it to be less fight oriented and more between the two males, and yes i love similar storylines but this was just not it. The actors were good, as seen in thai and chinese bl's some side characters may be missing the 100/100 acting skills but it was good nonetheless.Was this review helpful to you?
A Dark and Violent BL, but Striking
The Bangkok Boy is truly a dark and violent BL. It’s very different from anything I’ve seen so far. There was really good character development for Peace and Sun, both in their relationship and in their personal growth.The series mainly focuses on their individual journeys – how losing loved ones can break you forever, or how blindly following a parent without ever saying no can completely ruin your life.
For me, this isn’t a love story; the romantic aspect is really secondary in the plot, at least from how I saw it while watching.
It really annoyed me that the villains I hated the most managed to get away with everything.
Still, I do recommend this series.
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This review may contain spoilers
Nearly Perfect~
triggerwarning: Abuse, violence, an instance of gore, SA.As the headline says, it was nearly perfect, i loved the concept, the camera work, the plot, and the actors (more towards the end, but ill get there later).
I'd say the drama is very much so more a typical crime/action drama with a gay couple rather than a traditional bl, which personally i loved. We need more wish fufillment, perfect happy endings depicting gay people and we will for a long time to come, but we also need dramas that are more grounded and protray these kinds of characters in a similar way to straight folks as well.
The twists were also glorious, They started off kind of obvious but as the story progressed, they just kept getting juicer and juicer, especially when you consider all the foreshadowing that is laced through the show (Jihoon, the icon you are).
The chemistry was chemistrying though the main couple needed more time together.
The story managed to keep me fully engaged all the way through and the characters made me feel something (love for some and immense hate for others)
My only real gripes are character agency and clarity.
The show does an interesting job at giving everyone a decently fleshed out personality but has an issue with agency. The characters with the most agency are very much so Sun, Joe and Jihoon while everyone else feels like a passenger at times which isn't a good look when you consider Peace is also a main character alongside Sun. Speaking of Peace, he's a big example of this you see elements of a well made character there, a smart, capable, artistic person with alot of emotional intelligence and charisma but who barely gets to show it because his trauma causes him to shut down and become stoic, passively allowing others to control his life despite how much he hates what his family is doing and resents himself for being apart of it.
Theres so much flavour there but it feels unsatisfying as his relevance is cut down by the fact the writers makes him feel like a damsel in distress at times even though he's a capable. He gets put through the wringer due to his father's abusive antics and he has unresolved issues with his mother but he never once stands up to his father or makes a connection with his mother and once everything is over and done with, we don't see his reaction to what has happened to his family.
It also struggles with clarity at times, the biggest example of this being Madame Yao and her motivations. On one hand, you have a woman who loved and is grateful towards a man and thus wants to protect his kids yet she pulls a gun on one and potentially allowed the other to be kidnapped and SAed by her righthand man and others. This also goes for Peace to an extent as i only clocked his emotionlessness was coping mechanism by episode 11 of 12, until then it felt more like inconsisent character writing, which is sad considering how good is actor is.
Overrall, a great drama, i can't wait for season 2 and i hope it goes further beyond that as it has the potential to be a very good long running drama.
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Oh my!! I need season two right now!!!!
This was fantastic!!I started this as a BL but wow!! This is much much more than just simply a BL.
Tbh almost all the thai BLs tend to be simple, cute, fluffy, ridiculous with many plot holes stories... but this!! Ooohhhh this!!!!! it feels like a banal abbreviated description to just call it a BL.
Story was good, consistent but with some unrealistic twists, like I understand that you want to surprise the viewer but bringing dead people to live is just too tacky... Nonetheless it was perfectly executed, I couldn't find any plotholes, everything was well explained too, except maybe for the sometimes too good to be true situations.
Cast .... Spectacular!! Splendidly remarkable chemistry between the two leads and oh my baby Si Hyeon!! With his lovely melancholic gazes that hold so much pain and sadness!! And Tape was ... Wow!! Just wow! They guy basically pulled a one man show in this, because despite having a full cast of talents, he shines like the brightest sun!!!
Also, how come this guy is older than me 😂 sorry but he is now what 32-33??? FFS!! 😂😂 He doesn't look a day older than 25 !!!!
The cliffhanger end was sliggghhhhhtly weird, I don't understand the situation and why would "someone" reappear,.. I bet the only one who wasn't raised from the dead is the father lol speaking of fathers! How come half of the cast is missing here! I know none of them so I wish someone would update the cast because I gotta know the name of Mr.Joe, the King of the show!! This guy ATE and left no crumbs!!
I don't know what else to say, it's captivating, the pace is great, the sex scenes were HOT!!!! Like a plate of hot lava with extra spicy jalapeno sauce on it!! And the chemistry and friendship also worthy.
If you -like me- want to watch a BL, start this and you are in for a treat, bear in mind it's not a light fluff drama, it's heavy with a lot of triggers so be cautious, and also if you want to watch a drama that is deep with a story and good fights, give this a try!!! You definitely won't regret it at all ~~
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The story, acting, and cinematography were all a level above most Thai BLs I’ve seen, which often stick to simple school-based plots with little rewatch value. This one felt mature, gripping, and reminded me of the vibe from KinnPorsche, which was a welcome return to that kind of storytelling.
I was also impressed by how smoothly the show combined Thai and Korean actors. Other dramas have tried this, but the language barrier often felt forced and distracting. Here, it worked naturally and even added to the experience — especially for me as a fan of Korean BLs.
The acting was strong across the board, not just from the leads. Even minor characters felt well-cast and contributed meaningfully. That said, I have to highlight the actor playing Peace. His performance, driven mostly by facial and eye expressions, was incredibly powerful — subtle but full of emotion something which is very hard to do.
Overall, this was a refreshing and well-executed drama that raised the bar for Thai BL series. I genuinely hope to see more like it in the future.
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This review may contain spoilers
Raw, Rushed and Rare BL
This is not a typical BL. The focus is not on the romance, but on the drama. The romance seems to have been written in after the fact. Not that it was bad, the chemistry between Sun and Peace is definitely there, but it could have been better. There was very little communication about stuff that really needed addressing (like when one beat the other to as pulp). We all understand why things happened how they did, but it needs to be said out loud sometimes. As BL watchers we are used to seeing tropes. I think we got the worst one in this drama, the accidental fall-and-kiss, and that was it. no other typical BL tropes. That's refreshing, of course, but also left me wanting. There is one NC scene, which is really more NC-scenes rolled into one. I would have preferred all that being evenly distributed instead of in one episode.The crime story takes the lead in this drama. And it's a good one. many plot twists that we never see coming. The villains are well written, with just enough added depth. I'm still confused on what a lobbyist is, however. And what the hell was that last scene? This absolute baffling cliffhanger begs for a S2. Let's see if we get it so we can get a well rounded story.
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WIthout Tape, as the character Sun, this ship would have sunk
Firstly, Tape is a star-- a bonafide leading man. Yes, he has a rugged beauty that's typical for certain Thai leading men, but it was his incredible charisma and strong acting, as the character Sun, that anchored a very rocky ship and held the series together. And a rocky ride it was-- periodically baffling editing and a core mystery that often spiraled out of hand and into the realm of a jumbled mess of misdirection.Other PROS
• Sun's group of friends— lovable, loyal, capable fighters and always ready to lay their lives on the line for each other.
• The actor who portrayed Songphum, Sun's father, is a wonderful actor.
• Sun's sister;s were both adorable.
• The character of Jun Ho was a real pain in the ass, but he possessed hidden depths and the actor who portrayed him did a good job.
LUKEWARM
• The character of Peace. My feelings for that character remained lukewarm throughout the entire series. Other than him being conflicted and sad, as well as a caring person, nothing else really rose to the surface.
The CONS
• The vast majority of the baddies. Collectively, they had the emotional complexity of cardboard.
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A lot of punches at a bit of love
Overall a solide series.The raw storytelling surprised me. I don't know what I expected, but not that.
It's not for everyone: be aware of a lot of blood and brutality. As for me, I liked it, cause Im a bit sick of all these cute dramas, that are facing "problems", which aren't real problems and could be solved in a sec, if the characters would just talk with each other.
To be honest: I considered a lot giving this one a try, because I learned to be careful with these mafia-set up dramas. Mostly in the beginning the series start with brutalism and a story with potential, but turns out to be just a setting in which the protagonist can wear dark clothes and look cool and dangerous - then the story lacks of everything, but NC scenes and "spicy moments".
After KinnPorsche - which held a lot of cliches and could have done better in some subjects as well - there was nothing mafia-themed that caught my attention. Whatever, I gave Bankok boy a try.
I don't regret watching it. Overall it was a solide series with a well written story and a lot of characters, who had a lot of potential. The most interesting one was Aim, the actor did an excellent job, playing this psychopathic evil guy! He deserves a lot more attention.
Tape Worrachai Sirikongsuwan, who acted for Sun did great as well, especially in the emotional scenes. Peace, played by Cho Si Hyeon - Im not sure about this one. There were some scenes he did very good, others were kinda emotionless and stiff in my opinion. I guess it suited the character of Peace (a traumatic boy who doesn't want to be part of the mafia thing at all). His acting in the street fight scenes was extraordinary, due to the pain you could see in his eyes for hurting the one he loves. I don't understand Thai, whether Korean. I watched with English subtitles. Is it normal to sound like a monotone, when speaking Thai as a Korean? That seemed kinda off to me.
The other characters could have been written better, I think it could be interesting to learn more about how these two friends ended up selling drugs. This feld like a setting just to have a setting for these two and the acting and character building lacked of seriousness. Which is a shame, because it could have been so much better, if the actors have had a good script they could work with.
The fighting scenes: ... were okay. Nothing more and nothing less. In the end it's a BL drama. I will say it blankly: I skipped a lot of them and still understood the whole story.
The end was surprising if you didn't pay attention at all. I liked it. I liked the lack of NC-scenes, so there was more space for story telling. Sometimes the dialogue scenes could have been shorter I think.
Long story short: Its worth the time giving The Bankok boy a chance.
I'm hooked for a second season.
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