We Are

Not just a BL - FOCUS IS FRIENDSHIP

This might be one of my favourite bl dramas, definitely from GMMTV. I liked that it didn't have some deep mafia or fantasy plot, whilst I love them (Trapped is legit my fave bl ever), sometimes you need a nice sweet simple plot so you can focus on the characters and their relationships. I have seen a fair bit of criticism around the pacing, and to be honest, I'm not sure I agree. I think if this show was supposed to be a simple BL, then the pacing is a valid concern, but I saw this show as being about the friendship group itself and how they support each other in finding love. With this mindset, the pacing makes a lot more sense, especially considering they need to showcase the story of four couples. Some might see Phum and Peem's storyline as being too long, but I think it did its job as a contrast to Toey and Q and Tan and Fang perfectly. Peem was focusing on his art rather than throwing his university degree away to fall in love like we often see in GMMTV, Q told him from the get go that he needs to work out how he feels and he was doing that just at a slower pace because it wasn't his main concern at the moment, it just felt like they were in the talking stage for slightly longer which happens sometimes. The friendships were healthy, the relationships were healthy, no unnecessary toxicity that GMMTV likes to throw in sometimes. I loved it. Could the acting have been a bit better? Perhaps. But as someone who has been watching BLs for years now, I enjoyed the acting and found myself replaying so many scenes to laugh at (something I rarely do).

I think the show was supposed to act as an almost reset and introduction for these couples, AouBoom in particular, who have skyrocketed since this show. It's nice to be able to just stick a show on and enjoy it without having to watch them suffer trauma every single episode.

If you're looking for a straightforward BL drama, then you might not love this as much as I did, but if you want a show about friendships akin to that of Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and the like, then this is perfect. It has become a comfort show at this point purely for the friendships. It features university students simply being university students, and I loved that it focused on the art students rather than engineering for once and didn't make it seem like a throwaway degree.

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"We Are" is an exceptional BL drama that captivated me from start to finish. The storytelling is masterfully crafted, ensuring that not a single minute is boring. I found myself completely absorbed in the plot, to the point where I never felt the need to skip any scenes. The drama maintains a perfect pace, with each episode building upon the last in a satisfying manner.

The music in "We Are" deserves special mention. The soundtrack complements the narrative beautifully, enhancing the emotional impact of key moments. It's clear that a lot of thought went into selecting and scoring the music, as it fits seamlessly into the story and adds an extra layer of depth to the viewing experience.

The acting in "We Are" is nothing short of outstanding. The actors deliver their performances with such authenticity and passion that it's easy to forget you're watching a scripted drama. Their chemistry is palpable, making the romantic and dramatic scenes all the more engaging. Each character feels fully realized, with their own distinct personalities and arcs, contributing to the richness of the story.

In summary, "We Are" is a top-tier BL drama that excels in every aspect. From its compelling story and perfect pacing to its emotive music and stellar acting, it delivers everything you could ask for and more. Whether you're a long-time fan of the genre or new to BL dramas, "We Are" is a must-watch that will leave you thoroughly impressed and deeply moved.

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COMFORT WATCH - Great Cast with Amazing Chemistry

This series is the one we have been asking for, no unnecessary drama created just because and focusing on the character relationships, development and how they together overcome their personal hurdles. I loved that we were allowed time to explore the individual relationships between the friends as well as between the couples. There is of cause love connections in the series as it is a Boy's Love series, but equally as great is it to just sit and watch the different friendship dynamics portrayed.

Over the episodes you get to meet and connect with the characters and for the most part they all have fairly fleshed out back stories and plots. Although it is hard to do this to the same extent for all of them as the cast is quite large, there is no seemingly unnecessary characters introduced. They all have their individual characters and traits that show believable and varied expressions of friendship, love and affection. I also like how we see four very different types of couple dynamics, and that one isn't better than the others, they are just different but equally deep in their feelings.

It is a modern take on a classic University BL that I really appreciate. It shows that you can make a non-toxic University BL that gives the viewers warmth and promote healthy relationships. Although some of the criticism of the series is by some a perceived lack of plot, I personally do not think so. The plot is the friendships and lives of the 4 couples. Whom all have good charisma and chemistry that carries the series to the end. The series doesn't need the big dramas to carry it throughout because the chemistry between all the actors carries the story beautifully.

I only wished the episodes were longer and that there were more of them, as this series has been a great COMFORT WATCH.

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Why I Love We Are ❤️

This series had me hooked right from the start. It’s a bit on the longer side since it follows multiple couples, but that totally makes sense. I’ve always had a soft spot for rom-coms, and this one really hits the mark. I’m especially loving Phum and Peem’s story (PondPhuwin), the whole enemies-to-lovers vibe is just chef’s kiss.

Phum’s your typical rich guy with some serious daddy issues, while Peem has this super supportive and loving aunt, which adds a nice contrast. Also, I really appreciate that they focused on Fine Arts as a course instead of the usual Engineering angle you see in a lot of BLs, it’s a refreshing change!

Sure, it can be a little hard to keep up at times, but the story flows well, and all the couples have amazing chemistry. My favorites are definitely PhumPeem and TanKhaofang. Khaofang seems cold at first, but Tan is so persistent, it’s sweet watching Khao slowly warm up to him.

Overall, We Are is a beautiful story about deep friendship and love, and I’m totally here for it.

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Unexpectedly good

I had like zero expectations on this series, but I really loved it. Why? I don’t know, it was unexpected. When I saw the trailer I didn't expect much, cause I’m not a big fan of the actors either, but I changed my mind. I couldn't wait for the new episode to come out every week.
There is no plot, really, just some guys living their university life and falling in love, but here we are, they made me love this show. It’s a fun and sweet series, not a masterpiece, but perfect as entertainment. And personally I loved every characters and all the couples (but Q and Toey have my heart ❤️‍🩹). I think the charachters and all the relationships between them are the best thing on this show, probably why I liked “We are” so much. This show is also the story of a beautiful friendship! I'll miss them all❤️😭

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of PondPuhwin, I don’t like them in Never let me go, but this series made me love them so much 👀 a lot of unexpected things.

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One of the best college BLs in recent times

With 16 episodes, We Are is an exception to the GMMTV BL rule. I’m glad they decided to go with this many episodes because, to be honest, I couldn’t get enough of this series.

The trailer of We Are seemed a little lame and all over the place. I didn’t know what to expect from the drama except for a cliched “do what I tell you in exchange for what you want” plot, but I’m glad to have been proven wrong.

Pond and Phuwin never disappoint. They have found a steady rhythm blending romantic anticipation with playful rivalry. aheir relationship also develops like how any real-life relationship would. There’s a long period of ambiguity in their status, which is actually the best part of the show given their mutual attraction.

Even though the storyline was rather superficial and uncomplicated, it managed to capture the magic of young people falling in love. No bullshit, no convoluted problems. Just butterflies and affection.

The series was also unexpectedly humorous in its own way, so it left me both squealing and roaring with laughter throughout.

Verdict: A comforting and highly entertaining series that I looked forward to every week

Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2024/07/28/we-are-2024-bl-review/

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Perfect Low Stakes Slice of Life for a Casual Watch (One Real Spoiler, but I Think it is Important)

POSITIVES
+ PhumPeem Storyline
The PhumPeem storyline is very sweet; however, full appreciation for it probably won't come until a second watch through due to the character backstories and the symbolism. Some say PondPhuwin lost their chemistry, but PhumPeem are simply a very different couple from their prior characters in Never Let Me Go. Bonus points for Peem, although encouraging Phum to forgive his parents, saying it is ultimately Phum’s decision.
+ TanFang Storyline
The TanFang storyline is cavity inducing, and AouBoom act them so well I’m half-convinced the production team stuck a go-pro on them and based it off them. That being said, when the show was airing some viewers believed Fang didn’t love Tan back, but Fang clearly loves Tan back it is simply shown in the microexpressions Boom does. Another couple where the true appreciation won’t come until a second watch through, due to revealed backstories.
+ The Third Act of the QToey Storyline
Once QToey get together, it is smooth sailing as they are very cute together; however, their getting together portion can be very rough (more detail later).
+ Accidental Demiromantic Representation in Q and Peem
I am not joking when I say Q and Peem read as demiromantic to a hilariously competent degree. I’m not surprised with Q, as the novel basically says it in all but name, but Peem reads as demiromantic too. It wasn’t intentional, so you don’t have to read them this way but I do encourage people to read them this way due to how right the scriptwriters got it.
+ Friendships
This is a New Siwaj production, so you know the friendships are going to be amazing. We Are is no exception, as even if you don’t like all of the couples you will like the friendships.

NEUTRALS
= ChainPun Storyline
I place the ChainPun story as a neutral, because I feel like it is a little unfair to critique it due to the behind the scenes mess. To make a long story short, production had to recast the actor for Pun after they did a great amount of shooting, so I believe they prioritize reshooting all the group scenes over the individual ChainPun scenes. I'm fairly sure we lost ChainPun scenes due to this, but for the scenes they kept and reshoot it is a cute story (although not to my personal tastes). This is marked as neutral due to the production hell behind them.
= First Act of the QToey Storyline
The first part of the QToey storyline is rather inoffensive, but when they set up the in-universe scheme the story revolves around there are several glaring questions the show doesn’t bother to try to explain away. This is marked as neutral because I don’t think the casual viewer will notice or care, but it might be distracting upon other watch throughs.

NEGATIVES
- Asexual Erasure
The show erases Toey’s novel canon asexuality (at minimum demisexuality). As someone on the ace spectrum, this feels important for me to note. It is worsen by the fact when We Are was airing Wandee Goodday was airing which had good asexual representation, so GMMTV is willing to portray and air asexual experiences. You might not find it important, but it does suck.
- Episode Five Continuity Errors
The fifth episode contains continuity errors with the TanFang and QToey plotlines, but you won’t notice unless you are me. Once again, willing to forgive due to reshoots.
- Forgiving the Parents for Literal Child Abandonment
As a victim of child neglect, I wasn’t fond of Phum forgiving his parents for dropping him as a child in another country and not retrieving him until secondary school (high school). That is child abandonment, and immensely strange to portray Phum as being in the wrong for holding a grudge about it and trying to cut his parents out of his life. Unfortunately, this is a New Siwaj production, so I expected it.
- Second Act of the QToey Storyline
To keep spoilers light, during the QToey plotline there are two halves to an in-universe scheme. By the time you make it to the second half, the characters involve come across more malicious than funny, especially since Q is in obvious duress, so it can negatively impact your view of QToey and their storyline. Personally, I maintain the characters are lucky this is a Boys Love, because if it was a little more realistic I feel like Q would have gotten hostile.

STAR EXPLANATIONS
Story knocked down a point for the QToey storyline issues.
Acting/Cast knocked down a point simply as I find Marc as Chain a bit boring, especially next to Poon as Pun.
Music is average, but gets an extra point since Pond and Aou became members of a boy group named jasp.er which retroactively makes their participation in the themes increase the value.
Rewatchability knocked down two points due to noticing flaws in the continuity, but retains an eight as it is a good comfort watch and putting together the grand scope of the PhumPeem and TanFang storylines.
Overall it is a nine as all the positives greatly outweigh the negatives.

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family can’t always be your safe space

I’ll admit I came here for Pond Phuwin but stayed for AouBoom.

there is something so wonderful about a group of friends that love and support each other as much as the gang of We Are. I WISH I had a friendship group like this.

honestly this series is unserious a little unhinged and full to the brim with love and the world just needs this at times.

I was also very happy with the pretty much even screen time for most of the cast. when there is this many characters things tend tog tt messy and overlooked but that really didn’t happen here. I would hav loved to seen more marc poon, that would be my only complaint in the screen time category.

if you’re looking for a unserious, fun, full of love good time series I highly recommend it.

now how do we go about getting Aou and Boom their own series?

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