23.5

TAN DULCE!!

Me gusto bastante la historia de ambas, el hecho de que ongsa realmente sabia transmitir el sentimiento de no ser correspondida (y más con alguien de tu mismo género) es algo que si podía llegarte, pero a pesar de esto, toda la serie fue muy dulce y divertida. Ame tanto al elenco y las actuaciones fueron muy divertidas y el personaje de Sun fue de lo más lindo que puedas ver junto con Aylin. Me encanto el hecho de que nos dejaron ver el trasfondo de la historia de Aylin y el porqué se comportaba de esa manera, ya que esto no se suele ver muy seguido en las series (dando como resultado que el personaje solo sea tonto porqué si) pero lo supieron manejar bien y nos dieron la historia con todo un contexto por detrás. El ost de esta serie es algo muy lindo, la voz de ambas actrices se complementa muy bien y es una canción fácil de escuchar. Como una persona que espero por 23.5, dos años, quedé realmente conforme y superó mis expectativas, tanto tiempo esperando por Milklove y lo hicieron excelente y las escenas de besos no se vieron forzadas, realmente amo a ellas dos!!!

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This is a really cute story between two characters Sun and Ongsa. I wish I had this story growing up in high school. There were some plotholes in the story throughout the Ongsa's classmates with each other and how they tried to help her get with Sun and while they were in the relationship. However, I realized the plot holes were made to make the series a comedy. Some characters are made to make bad decisions and not realize it since they are teenagers. Ton was really annoying though throughout the show. The production design is very cool, making the show come to life between these classmates and teachers. It really has nice representation for autism (I'm mildly autistic irl), trans, and gay people.

I would have liked the series more if it was longer and if there were more interactions between Sun, Ongsa, and its recurring characters. The longer it was, the more developed these characters were, but this isn't like the series Home School with two main conflicts the characters had to deal with when really it was just two main characters (Ongsa and Sun) trying to figure things out for each other. Also, Sun feels like she has lots of screentime, but loses its value as they show too many couples trying to get together at the same time, it distracts the storyline. While it is cute and feels like MLM and other couple dynamics are being represented, it made the storyline between Ongsa and Sun bland at some points as they were developing.

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It's Cute

The Story is basic and for me the cast is too much, like they have too many side characters. And the thing is that the side characters has more screen time than Sun and Ongsa. Like i don't care much about the friends like why are they giving them more screen time than aylin and luna or sun and ongsa like i don't know. It don't look like a series about Sun and Ongsa, it look like a friend ground love story series like why do you need 5 love story in one GL??? Like whyyy we want Milklove why are we watching Mawin and tin or ton?? I wish they develop Sun and Ongsa's character rather than giving other more screen time. I love ongsa's character very relatable, tho i think sun is very one dimensional, like she is super nice and seems like she don't have any personality. all in all it's cute.

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SO CUTENESS

This is such a cute series, I mean MilkLove were just the best in this. I usually prefer dramatic series cause I mean, yeah. However, this one is an exception. It was a little boring ngl idk how to explain it, you just have to find out fro yourself. Every character is so silly and I love how everyone is friends and supportive, like YES! this is what life is supposed to be about. In some parts, it could've been a bit better? it's still a good series, but there was just something missing. I have rewatched it a few times, but usually skip the beginning bc Ongsa is the definition of loser-lesbian, which was kind of a hard to watch, but its Milk so idrc. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, but something was definitely missing.

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The Best Thai GL of 2024

You know how there are certain anime you can show your non-anime-watching friends that won’t scare them off? 23.5 is kind of like that, but for Thai GL. Which is why its reception on this website is a little bit bewildering to me. Based on all the one-star reviews, and the somewhat low average rating, 23.5 seems to be a divisive, love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing. I’m honestly surprised by the strong reactions, since 23.5 is a pretty middle-of-the-road series, imo—not a masterpiece by any means, but a competently made and extremely likeable piece of work.

I don’t mean to turn this into a meta-review where I review the other reviews…but sometimes, reading the opinions here, I feel like I’ve watched a different show. The most upvoted review on this page complains that 23.5 has no soundtrack. Um, what? There is music playing in almost literally every scene. If I have any complaint about the music, it’s that it’s overused—although thankfully the GMMTV budget means they can afford more than four tracks, so there’s lots of variety, at least. The same review also claims that there aren’t enough costume changes to show the passage of time. Y’all…the show is set in a school. The characters wear school uniforms in like 85% of the scenes? I’m sorry, it’s a weird review, but I digress.

I’m not sure what would inspire someone to dislike 23.5 so much that they invent fake things to criticize about it, especially when there are real things to criticize. It’s pretty heavy on fluff, low on substance—don’t expect to learn much about any real issues facing LGBTQ students in the school system. There’s a lull for an episode or two, after Ongsa and Sun get together, where there’s not much wind in the plot sails, although the side characters help pull the story along. The comedy can be a little overdone, and there are far too many “HAA??” reactions. Some side characters, like Alpha, deserved more time in the spotlight.

But for me, at least, 23.5 checks all the boxes that a sweet coming-of-age romance ought to check, and avoids a lot of annoyances that plague other GL dramas. Just a few things I appreciate about it:

1) It’s a corny but cute touch the way all the character names and episode titles help tie the astronomical theme together. Pluto tries something similar but the execution is much better here.

2) With the exception of the parents, who only exist to be kind and supportive every once in a while, the cast of 23.5 has so much charm and personality. My personal favorite is Charoen, the devout Buddhist girl, but even the minor characters are fun, like the poor local monk who high school kids keep pestering for advice. School scenes are populated with recurring extras who have only one or two lines, but whose presence makes the school feel like a real place.

3) The trans characters are more than just comic relief for once—they are allowed to be people with their own lives and story. They are also funny, yes, but because their personality quirks are funny, and because they play off each other well.

4) The low stakes help keep the drama down-to-earth (sorry). There are no soap opera homophobes who suddenly fall to their knees in the last act and see the rainbow, and there’s only slightly more crying in the final episodes than there needs to be. The conflict is straightforward, relatable, and mostly resolved in a sensible way.

5) The fluff! What people find cute is subjective, and I’m not sure I could give you a rational explanation for why the fluff works for me here and not, say, in The Loyal Pin—but the fluff really works for me. Maybe it’s just that there’s always a tiny bit of tension when it comes to first love, even if it’s just the tension of watching a movie together and not knowing how to act. At any rate, 23.5 is adorable. It’s embarrassing how often I squealed out loud watching this.

6) The comedy! Other GL series might be funnier unintentionally, but 23.5 tries to be funny and succeeds pretty often. Some of the comedy is too over-the-top for me, but I can’t deny that there are some classic lines and moments. “To me, love is like an art film….It’s incomprehensible, but you can tell it’s good.”

I want to stress again that 23.5 is not the pinnacle of art, but it does know exactly what it wants to be, and succeeds at being that with confidence. In a major year for the Thai GL industry, with the meteoric rise of popular love teams like LingOrm, and the release of hype monsters like Pluto and The Loyal Pin, it’s that humble and unassuming confidence that helps 23.5 stand out from the pack as the best GL of 2024.

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Aylin and Luna Standout

The best way I can describe 23.5 is as sweet. It captures the joys and awkwardness of young love. I really loved the concept of the Sun and the Earth. It was a creative way to illustrate destiny. The series made me laugh, cry and even left me stunned at times. I think it was a good start to the MilkLove journey.

I believe the leads had good chemistry for the characters they were meant to play. The acting could have been better, but it was good enough for how the show was written. For me View (Aylin) and June (Luna) had far better chemistry than Milk (Ongsa) and Love (Sun), but I must admit I am a little biased because their storyline in the series was my favorite part. Their love seemed genuine, not to mention View did and excellent job playing Aylin and June did a good job playing a very understanding and caring character.

23.5 is a cute-feel-good watch. It is very low threat if you want to just have a good time.

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the earth tilts to the cuteness in this show

I think everyone who likes gl's and espacially cute and wholesome gl's would love this show.

What I liked:
- Aylin, do I have to say more? Her line delivery was amazing and she was just such a vibe. Tbh I was not sure if I like her in the first episode but at the end of the first episode she already was my favorite. Her relationship with Luna is insanley cute and I loved every scene with them. And most of the funny scenes were her scenes. I cried a little bit when she told everyone why she sees herself as an alien. She just shows everyone that being yourself is the best thing anyone can do, even if you don't fit in. She still found someone who loves her very much even though she's different and was seen as "weird" by other people. I love that message.
- Sun and Ongsa are very cute as a couple. I especially enjoyed the scenes of Sun being jealous, very funny. The whole plotpoint with "Earth" was wrapped up very well and didn't feel to long. Sun being mad about Ongsa not telling her parents that they are dating was completely justified. I still enjoyed it because it went very well with Ongsa's established character. But I'm thankful it was only one episode. My heart would not have survived seeing them apart for more.
- THE TEACHERS!!! I love them. Not only are they funny but they also genuinely worried about their students and tried to help them.

What I disliked:
- It was a little boring at times. Sometimes scenes just dragged on for a little to long.
- I seriously did not enjoy Ton and Charoen. As stand-alone characters and especially not as a "couple". Ton kinda worked well with Mawin.
- I know they are only minor characters but it's kinda disappointing that we didn't see more of Mawin and Tinh. They were cute, I wanted more.

Aylin really carried that show. Not to say that the rest was bad or anything. She was just the best.

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WE, WHICH REVOLVE AROUND THE SUN

23.5, how I love you. How could I not? I love love LOVEEE MilkLove and ViewJune, but as much as I was excited for this series, I may have let my expectations take a toll on my rating.

STORY: Ongsa, whos just moved to Bangkok, meets Sun, who's a bubbly and bright person, just as her name suggests. Although it may seem like they've never met, Ongsa secretly has known Sun. How? They met through Instagram, of which Ongsa uses a fake name as "Earth." Scared of how she'll react, Ongsa keeps this a secret from Sun, as she doesn't want to lose her and this friendship that begins.

LIKES:
-Luna and Aylin my cuties😞😞
-The patience in the couples relationship
-The friendships within the characters
-Side Characters in General


DISLIKES:
-The awkwardness between the characters.. Weren't they supposed to be together? They had known each other for a bit before, yet could barely speak to each other without one of them either feeling flustered or just not knowing how to speak inn general. I can understand if it's due to their ages because I'm around that age range, but even I have seen less awkward couples.

-I was looking through other reviews and someone mentioned the fact that they didn't even really have a reason to like each other, which I slowly began to agree. Other than the fact that they share a bond for the fact that they have a FRIENDSHIP, they don't really have a valid reason to of liked each other. I understand if it's just you fell in love, but we didn't even see any of that.

-The story overall went downhill after halfway. I only continued to watch for the cute scenes of the couples, but even that almost couldn't keep me up. I loved MilkLove in Bad Buddy, but this.. It's just not doing it. I'm usually good at keeping ongoing series, but I got episodes behind because I just couldn't get through episodes.

OVERALL:

I can't bring myself to give this lower than an 8, for the fact that I love these two couples too much. This won't stop me from loving them, but this just wasn't it. Other than the cute scenes and great OST, there wasn't anything special. Just a plain gmmtv high school series but gl version. It's not a horrible start at gl for gmmtv, but it definitely could've been better.

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Comfort Show For Sure!

This show has such a cute plot! Honestly going to put as a comfort show for sure! I wish I watched this in high school. I love how they showed their immaturity even though most of them are in their 20s. At first I thought they were actually teenagers, and that shows how amazing the actors are in this show. And I'm not just talking about the main duo. I mean ALL of them. All of them earn my respect for sure. This show is so hilarious and gives me so much nostalgia of all the fun things I did in high school. I love that the decisions that the characters made here are also the same decisions that a high schooler will also make. Sure some of them have wisdom but they still portray and show the teenage personalities here. And I really love that. The loserism in this show is just top notch! It was nerdy, corny, and cringe in the best of ways! Sure there are a lot of goofy and funny moments in this show but I also love how the intense scenes are played out. I felt so understood watching those scenes. It may have been dramatic but wasn't high school dramatic? This show was just like a hug to my past self. Made me think that even though my school and family life is not as good as this, I had good friends who helped me made good memories. That's why this show is top-tier in my opinion. The acting in this show is also very very good. Milk (Ongsa) had the loserism to a T. It was so good that I thought she was a little like this in real life. I wasn't a fan of Ongsa at first because of the catfishing but when her moment came when she broke down to her family. I get it. That scene was so powerful and heartbreaking because a lot of queer people relate to that. I finally understood why Ongsa did it. I liked Ongsa because her character grows, she may not be the best at anything but she tries, and even at trying to try she fails but she still persists to do it next time. As kid who missed a lot of chances, I totally understood why she was so scared. Sun (Love) was the best girl! She was the literal definition of Sunshine. Her character did show maturity but she still had some room to grow, especially the outing scene. It was messed up to out someone but the way it happened was not with malicious intent. She was hurt and she was trying to understand why Ongsa lied. She was such a good character with a lot of depth. Aylin (View) this was such a good character and representation. Her braveness to push through her uncomfortability to express herself to people she cared was something to live by. Luna (June) was so patient, sweet, and respectful. The actors in this show is just *chef's kiss*. I would also like to mention the OngsaSun's first kiss. That scene was perfection itself. The location, the event, the time, the place, the music. Best first kiss I've seen for sure! It was so so sweet. The OSTs are also really good. It stayed on theme and I can keep listening to it everyday, and I do. This is a show you can totally watch when you want some fluff because this is god-tier fluff!

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the earth tilts 23.5 degree to the sun and i love highschool lesbians

my titles doesnt rlly correlate but, i think its a really cute show to watch with highschool drama, cliche stories, its not serious at all. Its comedic and fun to watch when you are stressed or just wanna reminisce highschool love.

i have been waiting for this show for years due to it being delayed from covid, so i was really excited watching it. However i felt the plots was kinda weak to follow and sometimes they make me wna scream in my pillow out of frustration. Writing this review after 1 year completing it, i can barely remember anything from the plot too. BUT milklove chemistry is undeniably fun and enjoyable to watch.

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