The Boy Next World

The Stalker Next World

One thing that I admire about MAME is how masterful they are in colouring something green when it was clearly neon red. Not many can do that. But the fact they were able to do it in both the stories that got adapted is a talent. Art majors are crying in the corner. Artists wish they could colour as well as her.

And what's even more masterful, is how people actually fall for it. It's amazing. Truly. I wish I could gaslight my audience into thinking a creep is the most wholesome sad boi ever. Actually jealous of MAME.

Now, let's break down this series as I understood it and see what went wrong.

Cir got in an accident one day, and after waking up from his coma he immediately finds Phu and believes he's his boyfriend. Then, he claims that he is from a parallel universe where they were boyfriends. However, we later find out that parallel universes don't exist and Cir was lying because when he was in a coma he saw a dream that he and Phu were together (and according to him felt so real) that he decided to make the executive decision to lie about it and convince Phu he truly is from another universe. Keeping up so far? No? Okay, great, because plot twist, parallel universes actually do exist and the "dream" that Cir was having wasn't actually a dream, but him teleporting into the body of another Cirrus from the universe before his and living that life for a while. Then plot twist again (which isn't really a plot twist, but whatever), the reason why Cir knew everything about Phu (down to his ROOM PASSCODE!!!) was because he has been watching Phu since high school. Then we get a bit of angst, some amnesia plot line, a confession in the middle of the road because these two fucking idiots haven't learnt their lesson after Cir got hit by a car TWICE, some family drama and finally a happy ending.

Got all of that? Great! Now let's discuss.

Let's start with PHUKAN by asking the most obvious question first. Why is Phu, a grown-ass adult, acting like a child? Why BLs can't move away from making their bottoms absolutely childlike is weird to me. It's like a weird fetish they all have. You can make your characters sunshine-y, but that doesn't immediately equate them to children. Take North for example from Fourever You. He's a sunshine character, and most definitely NOT acting like a fucking child. Just stop. Enough.

Many have said this before, and I completely agree with them, this is just Rain 2.0 but less of a brat and more naïve. Because how the fuck did Cir manage to make him believe in PARALLEL UNIVERSES??? I'm sorry, but this is the most unrealistic part of the show. If someone came up to you and claimed to be your boyfriend and proceeded to list EVERYTHING they knew about you INCLUDING YOUR FUCKING DOOR PASSWORD, you'd think he's fucking delusional and out to murder you, not that HE'S FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE! The entire premise of the show falls on the shoulders of Phu's naivety and that's downright stupid. You genuinely can't expect me to believe this whole ass 20 year old didn't realise Cir basically stalking him since high school. And that no one around him thought it was weird either.

And let's not forget how whiny he is. My dear lord give me strength because I was about to lose it within the first five minutes of the first episode and the show didn't even start. I don't know if it was Noeul's acting or if it was Phu's character, but whatever it was, it made wanna bash a brick against his head. And this constant whining coupled up with everyone around him babying him was not helping. Yes, his dad died. Yes, his mother loves his dad more than she does her own child and refuses to come back to Thailand. And yes, that can explain his naivety, but for some reason, the writers equate that naivety to him being childlike. You can be naïve but still be mature. You can be naïve but still have bloody common sense. Phu being naïve is not the problem, it's the writers using his naivety to make him a child and using it to explain his lack of thinking that's the problem.

The show already shows us that Phu has the tendency to always put others first, and I really liked that for his character. It added more than him being childlike. Now, they could have easily used that as the driving force of the show instead of making him fucking stupid. He thinks Cir is goddamn bonkers, agrees to go along with his ramblings of them being boyfies until he finds out what is actually wrong with him, then falls for Cir along the way. Done. Not so hard. But of course, the writers want you to believe someone who has developed their frontal lobe will believe a crazy guy who legit appeared are their doorstep after running away from the hospital. Yes, of course. So realistic.

And speaking of realistic... *cough cough* CIRRUS, come here my boy. Take a seat on that chair. Yes, that one by the wall. *Whacks him with a frying pan*

Listen, I'm all for tops that are completely enamoured by their bottoms. Really, I am. Nothing gets my feet kicking more than a man who is totally obsessed with you while being the greenest fucking flag possible.

What I do have a problem with is when that said man blatantly disregards their friends, your friends and his family. I don't find that hot. I find that disgusting. I don't like men who are jealous of their own family and friends when they get close to their partner. And whose entire personality is their partner. Like, I can't tell you a single thing this man likes doing except that he likes Phu. He doesn't work. Basically doesn't even attend his classes. Is always where Phu is and is constantly giving Phu's friend the death glare. And is so overbearing to the point where I'm uncomfortable. Honestly, if that works for Phu and he still loves the man, then great on him. At least he's not abusive.

But I'll tell you what he is though. A FUCKING STALKER!! Yes, you heard me and I'll say it again, he is a STALKER!! And not just any old stalker, but a class-A stalker. I'm not joking. Cirrus is EVERYWHERE. Like, everywhere. Phu could move to America without telling a soul and Cirrus would pop up in front of him in the middle of butt fuck nowhere. There is nothing cute about this. It's downright creepy. If he were to watch Phu from a distance in the places where they are together (like in class, the playground, the canteen...) fine, whatever, everyone does that when they have a crush. BUT TO ACTIVELY FIND OUT WHERE PHU'S DORM IS, WHERE HE BASICALLY IS AT EVERY MOMENT OF THE DAY, AND HIS PASSCODE??? Yeah, fuck off. That's fucking weird no matter how nicely you treat someone after getting together. And to top it all off he has evidence of his stalking by keeping a pile of pictures he secretly took inside a book he keeps out in the open. He's a weirdo and stupid. At least they address this problem with Toh in Secret Crush on You (and this dude had it worse), but no one here points out how weird this shit is. In fact, they all brush past it and glamorise it as him being so in love and boohoo isn't he so pitiful sad emoji sad emoji. Yeah, no. Shut up.

The genres of this show are Thriller, Romance and Fantasy. At first, I was so confused on why this was labelled as thriller when there were no thriller elements, but then I realised it's for the stalking. Should have been labelled as horror if I'm being honest.

And I haven't even gotten to the part where his reasoning for all of this isn't just cuz he was in love with Phu and is a coward to make a move, but also because he wants to keep Phu safe from his mother. And you know, the easiest fucking solution is to stay ten feet away and not move into the same apartment complex that your crush lives on. But what would I know? I've never been in love.

But this whole side-plot is so stupid. He traded away his freedom for four years of university, and after getting his degree he's basically not allowed to do anything out of his own free will. So why? Why the fuck would he start a relationship with Phu??? What was the plan here? Fuck around then ditch him? Because before the whole pep talk about Cir finally putting his foot down from Wim, he was still planning to uphold the rules/orders from his mother. And even in the end, before Phu finally got his shit together, he was still under his mother's palm. AND HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO SHOW HE WAS GOING TO BE HIS OWN PERSON!! This entire plot point of Cir finding his own freedom and getting out of his mother's clutches is so inconsequential to the whole plot of the show, and it basically went nowhere BECAUSE HIS OWN BROTHER TOOK HIS PLACE. WHO CIR HAPPILY FORGOT ABOUT!! We had a whole thing about how Cir would never let his brother take his place as his mother's property, but in the end, he just walks out hand in hand with Phu and never once looks back?? Be so fucking for real now.

And now onto the parallel worlds because I'm tired of typing about these two.

I haven't read the source material, but we do know that there weren't any parallel universes in it, and that Cir was making all of that shit up. And here is where the show did something good. Because if they just kept it as the original, then Cir wouldn't just be a creepy stalker, but downright delusional, manipulative, gaslighter and basically psychopath levels of get a restraining order against him. And while he is all of these already in the show, it's all mellowed out (apart from the stalking) by the fact that they included parallel worlds. Until the introduction of this, the pacing had been terrible and the romance just kept dragging with unnecessary plot beats to fill in the space. And it was because of this addition that I was finally invested in this show because something interesting was happening. Even if that investment came after 9 episodes.

HOWEVER. And yall know there was going to be a however. By making this addition, the writers shot themselves in the foot because they didn't know what else to do with it. They brought in such an interesting concept, only to fumble it in the end. The snippets of all the different universes that we could have possibly explored were amazing. And the lore that they were giving us was genuinely interesting. Until it just brought on more questions.

Why is Cir the only one who goes through parallel universes? Why did he travel into the body of another Cir while in a coma? And why did the other Cir travel into his? Is there a time limit? What makes them return to the original body? Is this a paradox? Because from my understanding, all these Cirs start making moves onto their Phus after finding out how amazingly they were loved by him and how wonderful their love was. So from this information it begs the question, who is the original Cir? Is there even an original Cir? Are they reincarnations of each other or are they separate entities? And the Cir dressed in black, the one from the previous universe, insinuated that none of the parallel universes had happy endings. Why? What happened? Why is this world special? Why did this Cir, the one that lied, stalked and manipulated Phu because he was a goddamn coward, get his happy ending, but not the Cirs that didn't lie and actually had a backbone? And these are just a few.

It's honestly just a shame that they didn't focus more on this part of the plot and only introduced it to add more drama into the story. It could have been such a good sci-fi mystery, but nope, we just stick to heavy handed romance instead.

Special mentions:

- Jin is my favourite character. Why does he have mind-reading powers? Fuck knows. When did he get them? Not a clue. Is he the only one with supernatural abilities? Couldn't say. For a second, I thought maybe we could be doing a supernatural children harvesting cult plot with Jin and his mind reading and Cir with his parallel universe jumping, but I guess that's too much of a plot. He was my favourite simply because I love the "I know everything but I'm just gonna smile, give out cryptic messages and watch the chaos ensue" characters. They're honestly my favourite.

- Wim was amazing, I wanted more off him. Just wish he didn't shout so much. It got annoying really quick. He deserved so much better than Cir as a friend. Dude does so much for Cir only to get nothing back.

- The mum. Fucking horrid. I don't see the point in her if they weren't even gonna try to give her a redemption arc or put her behind bars. This whole bullshit of, my children are my property and I'm using one of them to get back at my husband was ridiculous. We know nothing about her and everyone expects me to believe she's scary and powerful.

- Ozone. He needs to ditch his brother and find a better one. The fact that he got stuck in that household by taking his brother's place and no one even mentions him again is foul.

- The fiancé was so unnecessary. When are going to stop villainising exes and fiancés? Stop making them the scum of the earth who lust after the ML for the sake of drama! It's 2025, we need to stop this bs already.

- While I extensively complained about Phu's naivety/stupidity I loved when he actually stood up for himself when he needed to. He can get his praises for that.

- Boss as the Cir dressed in black was my favourite. There was something sinister about him and I whished we got more.

- Boss and Noeul definitely improved since Love in the Air. Noeul with black hair was so pretty and should keep that for his next series as well.

- The amnesia plot line. Why? Just why? Why are we bringing this trope back? Let it die in the trenches where it belongs. It was unnecessary and ridiculous.

This was a fun show for what it was, especially if you don't look too deeply into it. The characters are fun when you look past their glaring flaws, and the romance is quite cute if you decide to ignore the blatant elephant in the room. It's a MAME story so my expectations weren't that high to start with, and I knew coming in that Cir wasn't the green flag everyone portrayed him to be hence why my rating isn't lower. Set the bar low and go into it, and if don't like stalking your crush and then lying to them about it trope, then this will probably make you mad lmao.

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will bls ever evolve past universities and the f-word?

the show starts with an interesting sequence, and had one of the most cool plots imo but it set things up too slowly for my taste and then collapsed under its own weight of trying to fit too many things into 10 episodes. If they cut out the fiancee drama and the side couple (which i liked and wanted more of) and had just focussed on the parallel worlds then they could've had a much better run. it would've also been awesome to see bossnoeul carry the show on their own which i think they could've been capable off and if not; it would've been good practice! i would've also loved to see more scenes between bossnoeul as actual people instead of just becoming their default personality traits of 'oh no are you ok? please let me take care of you' / 'im so innocent please take care of me'. Moreover because the characters felt so 2D all the NC scenes felt very detached from the overall story and did not feel deserving or fulfilling either.

the things i liked:
wimxjin <3333 they were so cute honestly. it wouldve been nice to get more of jin's mind reading but oh well. however they also suffered because of the draggy writing and short screentime.
the cinematography is insanely good like damn the production team really went off! there's so much nice lighting and complicated shots i loved watching it! i especially liked it when they gave phu the warm colours and cir the cool tone colours.

The things i disliked the most was the random fiancée story line like...c'mon. we've seen this a million times. and the whole 'i've loved you secretly from afar since the day we met'-story line is also so cliché and just turned the show into just another university BL. they should've stuck with what they had in the beginning 'these are actually all memories and lives from other versions of us', but alas!

I also didn't like the scenes about consent because it just fell flat and seems kind of tone deaf when Cir is lying the whole time about who he is. I don't think the couple's break up was resolved in a satisfying manner with Cir essentially making an influencer apology video and that's the end of their break up. Phu was presented as a naive and innocent young boy with no experience in love but i think he wouldn't have folded so easily for Cir especially because in the immediate scenes after the reveal Phu was like 'please stay away from me' and really marked his boundaries very clearly. why the f*ck would he backtrack on that so easily? that scene really bugged me. and also the singing again? thai dramas: please stop with the random singing scenes. it's not necessary for an emotional scene unless it's a musical. and the flute scene??? that was random as hell. and the fact that phu is an art student but has zero art supplies with him??

in general, the series could've been great but like so many other bl series it didnt live up to its potential

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Parallel World? More Like Parallel Confusion

First off, that title is super misleading. I went into this expecting something sci-fi or truly about a parallel universe, but nope apparently, Cirrus is just making up stories in his head? I honestly had high hopes for this one, especially with the cool premise, but I ended up feeling a bit disappointed.

I do like the main couple, though! I first saw them in Love in the Air, and they had such great chemistry there. That’s partly why I stuck with this one. But here, Cirrus feels like he might be dealing with multiple personality disorder or some kind of dissociation, which is never really explained clearly. It gives the story a mysterious edge, but also leaves you confused, like, “What exactly is happening here?”

That said, the cinematography is stunning, and the visuals are vibrant and clean. Btw, I actually found myself more invested in the side couple and their unique dynamic, especially the whole mind-reading twist. That was kind of fun!

To be honest, though, I kinda just finished it because I already started it, I feel like I was forced to finish it lol, but hey, I saw it through

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There is always something weird with MAME productions...

I'm divided with this show. While I enjoyed the largest part of the show, MAME does always something weired or sick in her stories. This time it's the parents who seems to have some deal to call their children property. This is so absurd, that I can't take it serious. If this part would not exist, it would be an excellent show. At least she gave the parallel world story in this series more depth compared to the novels.

I never had a doubt in my mind that the parallel worlds do exist in this series, That made this series interesting and intriguing. The only downside Cir had always act like a stalker to get to know about Phukan. He is not a stalker as we understand the word. He does watch him, but he does not invade his private space in any way, so I had no problem with that. The only problem of the whole story are the parents. They don't fit and they are not needed. That's why my rating about the story is so low, because it's not good. The rest of it was better than everything else Me Mind produced. I think both MLs did improve their acting, but Boss improved a lot. Also the side couple was very cute and I would not mind to see them in their own series. The chemistry was top-notch, as always and the MLs can kiss :) Cinematography was good, the OST was excellent.

So this time, I will ignore the bullshit parent storyline because overall I really enjoyed the show. It was more mature than expected, it had less cringy elements than most and it had a lot of fluff. But it's miles away from a 10 :)

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WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS STRAIGHT-UP VIOLENCE

They should’ve called it The Boy Next Confusing Mess, cuz WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON. If you came here looking for a sugarcoated review, babe, you better hit that little ✨X✨ in the corner cuz I ain't sparing anyone today.

So when I heard that Boss and Noeul were starring in this, I was like “YAAASSSSS, WE ABOUT TO EAT” … Gurl... Lower. Your. Fucking. Expectations. This was microwaved leftovers at best. Like the concept? It had potential. The execution? A crime. They really pulled a Love Sea on us, where the only thing keeping it from flopping is the spicy scenes.

Now let's get into it before I combust.

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1. Plot - 🚨 WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS STRAIGHT-UP VIOLENCE 🚨

Okay, first of all, WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE FANFIC WATTPAD MULTIVERSE MESS DID I JUST WATCH?? From episode one, my brain was already buffering like a Windows XP update. I thought, "Maybe it's just me being dumb as hell," but NOPE, the confusion persisted. I'm sitting here waiting for a PROPER backstory, a little bit of sense, a crumb of logic—but instead, I get Cir looking like a professional stalker while claiming he’s from a parallel universe. EXCUSE ME, SIR, DO YOU HAVE A VISA FOR THIS WORLD OR??? Up until episode 8, I was flipping between "okay, maybe it's good" to "GIRL, FOR REAL? THIS IS THE PLOT Y'ALL GOING WITH??"

Also, why is the chemistry so FLAT?? The second episode wasted its whole runtime showing clips from episode one—HELLO? Episode 2 straight-up gaslit me by playing clips from Episode 1 like I got amnesia. BABE, I REMEMBER. MOVE ON. We get it. Cir ran. Phu got confused. SAME OLD SAME OLD. Give me CONTENT, give me SUBSTANCE, not a rerun of yesterday’s mess. I didn’t sign up for a damn recap episode disguised as progress.

And let’s talk about the false advertisement. The synopsis made it seem like we were getting some high-stakes, thriller, multiverse mindfuckery, and what do I get? Some half-baked, comedic nonsense with no clear direction. Like, if y'all wanted to make it funny, at least COMMIT. If y’all wanted to make it serious, then STOP PLAYING. Personally, I would’ve done the whole “Cir is really stuck here, and Phu helps him find a way back while they slowly fall in love” kind of storyline. AND THEN—BAM! CIR GETS SUCKED BACK TO HIS OWN UNIVERSE, HEARTBROKEN, PHUK LEFT BEHIND, TEARS, ANGST, ACTUAL STAKES. BUT NOOOO, instead, I got a storyline that feels like it was written by a sleep-deprived fanfiction author rushing a deadline.

AND THEN. THE HEAD BUMPING SCENE. GIRL, I DIED. I RESURRECTED. AND I DIED AGAIN. IT WAS TOO CUTE. THE WAY PHU WANTED TO CHECK CIR’S WOUNDS AND THEN YA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED 👅. I WAS SCREAMING. And don’t get me started on the fact that throughout the entire series, I was waiting for a big reveal like "Oh, maybe Cir isn’t actually from another universe; maybe he has a twin who just HATES Phu." WHICH, BY THE WAY, WOULD’VE BEEN A BETTER STORYLINE THAN THIS WHOLE ASS MULTIVERSE FIASCO.

And ummm, the side pairings? TRASH. Not even a single ounce of chemistry. Usually, I’m the type to get obsessed with the side couples, but this time? CHILE, I FELL ASLEEP. Every scene felt like they were just filling up time. At this point, I was just WAITING for Phu to get sick so Cir could take care of him, AND SURPRISE BITCH, IT HAPPENED. PREDICTABLE AS HELL.

OH, AND ABOUT THAT BIG "REVEAL" IN EPISODE 8? BFFR. Y’all wait eight whole episodes to EXPLAIN what the hell is going on? At that point, my soul had already left my body. The pacing is bad, the execution is worse, and I just sat there, staring at my screen like, "Okay, so Cir got a fever and just teleported into another AU???" WHERE IS THE SCIENCE??? WHERE IS THE BACKSTORY??? HOW DOES THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE??

AND WHO THE FUCK IS THE CIR IN BLACK SHIRT? WHY DID Y’ALL INTRODUCE HIM IF YOU WEREN’T GONNA EXPLAIN SHIT? GIVE ME ANSWERS OR GIVE ME A REFUND.

Also, Rome deserves a love line. I DON’T CARE. HE’S TOO CUTE TO BE LEFT OUT.

AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT CIR’S MOM??? Cir’s mom in one universe being the total opposite in another could have been a BANGER subplot, but instead, they said, "Let’s make this as basic and underwhelming as possible." Cir’s dad? Sir. SIR. EXCUSE ME? I was waiting for some deep, gut-wrenching backstory, and instead, I got "Oopsie, I chose one kid over the other." Nah. We beefin’. BITCH, I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO SWING ON A FICTIONAL CHARACTER SO BAD. You mean to tell me he straight up abandoned his son like HE WAS RETURNING A FAULTY IPHONE?? JUST SAID, “NAH, THIS ONE DON’T HIT, I’LL KEEP THE OTHER ONE”??? AIN’T NO WAY. AIN’T. NO. FUCKING. WAY.

AND ANOTHER THING. THE WHOLE RESOLUTION BETWEEN CIR AND HIS MOM???? GIRL, THEY JUST GLOSS OVER THE FACT THAT HE BASICALLY SACRIFICED HIS BROTHER FOR HIS OWN FREEDOM????? WHAT IS THIS SELFISH BS???? AND WHY DIDN’T HIS MOM HAVE A REAL REDEMPTION ARC? MAKE HER ACT LIKE A MOTHER FOR ONCE, DAMN IT. And Cir’s dad? WEAK AS HELL. My guy, you couldn’t even outsmart your ex-wife? BOY, BE SERIOUS.

Overall, the plot gave me "Vice Versa but make it Walmart." The lack of chemistry, the weak-ass plot, the wasted potential—girl, I expected better. Maybe I hyped it up too much, but damn. They really fumbled this bag.

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2. 🔥 Characters: Aka "Some of Y’all Snapped, Some of Y’all Fumbled, and Some Need to be Launched into the Sun" 🔥

- Cir (played by Boss) - aka “Mr. I Will Make You Forget Every Other Role I Played”
BOSS. BOSS, YOU SEXY LITTLE MAN. HE DID IT AGAIN. The way this man just waltzes onto my screen looking like a whole damn five-course meal, expecting me to focus on anything else?? I AM ACTUALLY SCREAMING. Boss’s acting? BITCH, HE LEVELED UP. I was so deep into Cir that I forgot all about LITA, and that’s a feat. AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE ACTION SCENES. Crisp. Sharp. HOT. I needed MORE. You’re telling me this man is out here radiating raw, aggressive, testosterone-filled charisma, and all they let him do was throw a few punches?? JAIL. He deserves a whole action movie, and when it happens, y’all better remember I said it first.

And then we have Cir with Phu. Oh my god. The way this big, intimidating, brooding man suddenly turns into a soft-spoken simp for Phu?? I LITERALLY MELTED. He talks to Phu like he’s the most precious thing in existence, and if I took a shot every time Boss looked DELICIOUS while doing it, I’d be COMA-LEVEL DRUNK. BUT. And I hate that there’s a but. Cir’s character development? Almost non-existent. He started off as shy, awkward, mama’s boy, obedient, hesitant, and by the end? Still shy, slightly less obedient, still hesitant, just slightly more aggressive about Phu. SNOOZE. Where is my main character glow-up??? Where is my BIG MOMENT™?? He could have been THE moment, but they played it safe. I hate that for him.

Final thoughts: Boss ATE. Cir was a little undercooked.


- Phu (played by Noeul) - aka “Why Is This Just Rain 2.0”. OKAY, FIRST OF ALL, CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW NOEUL LOOKED IN THIS SERIES??? BLACK HAIR. SEXY AS FUCK. His hair had more shine than this entire script, and I need his conditioner recommendation immediately. BUT. LET’S TALK ABOUT HIS ACTING. BECAUSE WHY DID I EXPECT IMPROVEMENT JUST TO GET JUMPED BY DISAPPOINTMENT. Noeul, baby. Love you. BUT WTF WAS THAT. I was praying to the BL gods that he would finally step out of Rain’s shadow, and yet HERE WE ARE. He’s still giving “awkward boy with squinty eyes and no real emotional range.” LIKE PLEASE. I wanted to feel something. ANYTHING. But instead, all I felt was secondhand embarrassment. Like, sir. You’re supposed to be MOURNING your father, and your version of crying is WHAT??? Blank face, slightly squinted eyes, dramatic breath—BABY, WHERE ARE THE TEARS??? WHERE IS THE PAIN???

I am begging this man to take an acting workshop because this ain’t it. AND I’M SORRY BUT. If Noeul doesn’t start taking acting seriously, I WILL be campaigning for Boss to get a new, actually emotionally expressive partner. I SAID WHAT I SAID. Right now, it’s giving “Do you even wanna act, bro? Or do you wanna sing? Or do you just wanna be famous? PICK A STRUGGLE.” The way I saw more emotion in my leftover pizza from last night than in his entire performance?? Unacceptable.

Now, Phu as a character? A lonely, miserable little man. He just wants love but doesn’t know how to ask for it. And his so-called friends?? TRASH. Except for Tree and Lin. The other two? Useless. Phu is emotionally constipated, but if Noeul had actually made me believe it, I would’ve cared. BUT ON A POSITIVE NOTE—PHU’S CARDIGAN COLLECTION?? GIVE THEM TO ME. NOW.


- Wim (played by Donut) - aka “Your Business Is My Business”. LMAO, I LOVE HIM. He is nosy, dramatic, and up in everybody’s business BECAUSE HE CARES. And I respect that. He didn’t need a character arc because he was already peak human. But let’s talk about his chemistry with Fot.

Because what was that.

It was flat. Drier than my phone during exam season. Like, I wanted to root for them, but instead, I was just watching two people stand next to each other awkwardly. Do better.


- Jin (played by Fot) - aka “Mr. Actually, I Know Everything”. I CAN’T WITH THIS MAN. Something about him just irritates my spirit. Like, why does he act like he’s the smartest person in the room at all times?? I can’t even tell if I hate Jin as a character or Fot as an actor, but either way, I was annoyed. And where is the flavor??? This man is BLAND. Plain white rice with no seasoning. All he has is a superpower, and that’s IT. Like… okay?? Do you want a medal??


- Tree (played by Creamy) - aka “Mother, I Am in Love”. MY QUEEN. MY WIFE. MY FUTURE GIRLFRIEND.

ACTING? IMMACULATE.
CHARACTER? PERFECTION.
PRESENCE? COMMANDING.

She is that friend who WILL throw hands for you, WILL hype you up, WILL cuss out your enemies. And SHE LOOKS HOT DOING IT. Also, I’m not gonna lie… I was staring at her legs the whole time. I need a doctor because she is 100% my type.


- Lin (played by Yok) - aka “The Water to Tree’s Fire”. She’s… fine? Like, she’s cool, she’s supportive, she exists. But not particularly memorable. She just balances out Tree’s chaos, and that’s her whole thing. BUT WHERE WERE THE LIN/TREE MOMENTS??? They had chemistry, and yet the writers were like, “Nah, let’s do nothing with that.” DISGUSTING.


- Achi (played by Joke) - aka “The Character We Didn’t Need”. Trash. NEXT.

And before y’all come for me—I mean the character, not Joke. Joke’s acting was fine, but Achi as a c character? DELETE HIM. He was messy for no reason, annoying, and did nothing for the plot.

🔥 Final thoughts: Some of y’all ate, some of y’all need to find a new career path, and some of y’all need to be yeeted into space. 🔥

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3. THE SPICE: THE ONLY REDEEMING QUALITY

If there’s one thing this show did right, it’s the kiss scenes.

Boss ATE. THE. FUCK. DOWN. The way this man kissed with his whole chest, eyes open, gripping Phu like he was about to devour him?? THAT is how you do it. Every single scene where they got close had me screaming into my pillow.

Phu buckling his hips against Cir? I NEARLY DIED.
That scene where Phu pulled Cir closer? I HAD TO PAUSE AND BREATHE.
The BJ scene?? I TRANSCENDED.
The fact that Boss kissed Noeul with his eyes open?? LIKE WHO DOES THAT??????? LIKE FUCKKKK THAT IS SO FUCKING SEXY FAKKKKKK.
But you know what makes me sick?? The fact that ALL THAT SPICE WAS WASTED ON THIS MID-AS-HELL SHOW.

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4. Overall: THIS SHOW DESERVES TO BE LAUNCHED INTO SPACE

Okay, so overall? This plot had potential, but they FUMBLED it like a quarterback with butter fingers. The execution? Weak. The details? MESSY. They had a whole-ass AU concept handed to them on a silver platter, and instead of diving deep into it, they just waded around in shallow water like cowards. Be so fr.

And let’s talk about the acting—because one of the leads? BABY, SOMETIMES I WAS ROLLING MY EYES SO HARD I SAW MY PAST LIVES. Like, give me something! A little more depth! A little more conviction! If I wanted stiff performances, I’d go watch a school play.

Now, I NEVER rewatch a series unless it’s so good it alters my brain chemistry. And this? Yeah, no. It’s a one-and-done situation. Even the steamy scenes weren’t enough to make me overlook the plot holes, the weak-ass chemistry, and the overall "meh" vibes. So, final verdict: a 7/10—decent enough for a watch, but definitely not BoNoh’s best work. Better luck next time.

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Boyyyyyy What?????

I'll surmise this review by simply pleading with the gods to free BossNoeul from Mame.

I'm actually starting to believe that Love in The Air was a fluke, because every other release with her at the helm has disappointed me so much.

Pros:
- Boss' acting is so so lovely to watch. Loved seeing the expanded emotions from him that we didn't get to see in LITA.
- The NC scenes are always on fire, as expected from BN.
- Loved Wim & Jin.

Cons:
- Noeul's acting really seemed to be... I don't want to say bad, but I guess it doesn't keep speed with Boss'. Overall, I think maybe I need Noeul to step away from these kinds of overtly innocent / cute characters. Even his crying scenes bothered me and I tried to look beyond it but couldn't.
- This storyline needed so much more time to flesh out and make it WORTH the time to watch. It was trying to tell this huge massive story, but somehow it ended up falling flat with a lot of leftover questions about what everything means.
- Shouldn't need to read the book to understand the show.

Overall this series left me feeling really disappointed as a whole. We waited so so so so long to get our BN back on screen and it makes it all feel a little worse that it didn't seem to deliver. Again, I think them being under the reigns of MMY and Mame are to blame honestly.

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I have to say after finishing the series I was very disappointed with the story and direction it took to the end. I love the main actors as they have strong chemistry and good acting skills, but this storyline fell flat and did not make to much sense. There are way to many gaps in the story and not enough information about the other world and the people in them the reason behind everything, in the long run the story just made no sense with no reason behind it, to much focus on trying to make the love story that they dropped the actual purpose of the over all store. If that was the case they should have just made it another university story instead of other world. This was a horrible storyline with some great actors sadly. I really love the sci-fi to the storyline but this was all poorly executed.

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Underwhelming

I absolutely adore Boss, and I think Noeul has potential but I don't know if its the director or the actor who is chosing to play the character is a borderline cringe way. Noeul in Love in the Air was unbearable, and in this we see this side in the alternative university. Overall, I think Noeul's acting has improved leaps and bound though.

I think there is a lot that could have been done with the plot but was left to the wayside in favor of cake.

The plot left a lot to be desired. Character traits/etc were kinda plotholey. The show wasn't particularly satisfying with its explanation and resolutions.

I watch the special episodes as well, and unless they plan on making a follow up show, it seems quite annoying with its cliff hangers.

The show wasn't bad, but I think the unachieved potential is the most disappointing thing.

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Another Boss & Noeul drama... Let's watch it...

Story about Phukan (Phu) & Cirrus (Cir). Phu is a pure, naive & kind hearted man that never dated anyone. Because he's quite a naive guy, all of his friend & family quite protective of him. So, yeah Phu is another character with full support system around him.

Cir, on the other hand, is a rich son of a powerful woman. But Cir's mom is having iron fist not only at her company, but also in her way to raise Cir. Cir's parent were divorce, and Cir's mom had love but also grudge against his dad, so Cir's mom raising Cir with a way to take control Cir's life & that's one of the way Cir's mom had her revenge against his dad.(Yeah that's sicko kind of thinking). Cir had one deal with his mom, to let him roam free until he's graduating from collage, after that Cir's life basically belong to his mom, Cir's mom always said Cir's as her property. So, taking advantage of the deal, Cir enroll to the same university with Phu & choose to live in Phu's apartment building too...

Our story started when one day Cir, a handsome senior suddenly walks into Phu's life. Cir is a famous senior at their university. Cir handsomeness yet cold deminer attract a lot of girls. Cir told Phu he's his boyfriend from a parallel world and that's he's the most important person in his life. Although at first Phu don't want to believe Cir words, but Cir tells Phu a lot about his personal stuff & habit that quite impossible for other person except the closest one of him know, like Cir could know that Phu had birthmark at the place that usually cover with clothes.

Slowly Phu start to accepting Cir in his life & getting used having Cir around him & of course Phu's feeling for Cir start to grow too. But deep inside, Phu also start having inner fight with himself. Cause he's always remember that Cir is not Cir but he's from another world that already had boyfriend. So, the first problem is Phu don't know if he's just another replacement of Phu from Cir's world or Cir's feeling for him is genuine from his heart. And 2nd problem, Phu feels guilty cause he feel he took Cir from Phu in Cir's original world.

On the other hand, soon we learn, Cir is actually not from parallel world. But he's actually from the same parallel world with Phu and already had feelings for him since middle school. One day Cir got into accident, Cir walk into his parallel state of mind, it like a white room in your mind... In there Cir actually really meet another Cir from another world (to make you not confuse, I'll said our Cir using White Cir, cause he wear white, & another Cir as Black Cir, cause he's wearing black). White Cir watch how Black Cir is having relationship with Phu & how happy Black Cir in that picture. White Cir wants that to be his reality too. So when he got back to his body, he just lie to Phu about everything & just said that's he's from another world & Phu is his boyfriend.

But our story still rolling with Cir started to rebel against his mom, because he doesn't want to lose Phu in his life. So, the crazy idea comes to their mind, to make Phu pretend as Cir's boyfriend. So, the question now is how Phu put his feeling in all of this...? Will he find out that Cir is lie to him regarding him from parallel world or will Cir just confess to Phu? And also how about Cir's mom, will she just stand still when she find out that Cir's having relationship with Phu...? And lastly... What the heck is actually that parallel state of mind...?

That's pretty much the story without giving any more spoilers. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ Interesting concept of story. But as usual with Mame, a little bit toxic. It's like she can't write a story without any toxicity in it. Haha...
+ Boss and Noeul chemistry never disappoint me.
+ How to correctly create Naive & Pure character without the need to make him like 5-year old boy.
+ Friends around Cir & Phu
+ I got to see Boss in Payu's style. Haha...
+ I got to see Thorn, although actually I prefer to see Tharn. Such a shame. Hoho...
+ The cute relationship between Wim & Jin. Although it feels a little unfinished too...

One biggest stupidity:
- They never tell us how powerful or rich Cir's mother actually is. I really want to know this.... Cir seem so afraid about his mother, but come on you're an adult. Can't you break free from your mother's wing...

Well overall this really one interesting story concept, parallel world but not quite parallel world too. But with Mame really toxicity is unavoidable. Now I think I need to read the books. Haha...

Below I’ll write what I don’t like & that’s quite a big spoiler. So… Read it at your own risk...









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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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What I don’t like:
- This feels like unfinished story. This is the biggest reason why I lower the score. I mean the story between Cir & his mom & his brother. Oh come on... Can't you add a few more episode to conclude this. How can they just leave Ozone in his mother's mercy...?
- I really hope we get more screen time for Wim & Jin.
- We got no more clear explanation about that parallel state of mind. Why must happen to Cir...? Is everyone actually can experience it...? Yeah yeah I know this is not a science-fiction drama...

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A Multiverse Romance that Dazzles & Disappoints

The magnetic pull between Boss Chaikamon's ice-cold Cirrus and Noeul Tangwai's warm, endearingly superstitious Phukan practically sizzles through the screen. Their evolution as actors is evident in every nuanced glance—they convey love, sorrow, and longing with a maturity that elevates the material. The way they softly speak to each other feels almost intrusive to watch, like eavesdropping on genuine intimate moments between parallel universe lovers.

For all its stylistic brilliance and captivating performances, "The Boy Next World" ultimately stumbles where it matters most—its core concept. The parallel universe premise that hooked us in the trailer gradually dissolves into the background, replaced by a more conventional university romance. By the time the show remembers its multiverse roots in the final episodes, it's too late, leaving viewers with fascinating glimpses of alternate realities that are never fully explored.

To read full review visit https://www.dramaasianreviews.com/post/thai-bl-review-the-boy-next-world-bossnoeul-s-multiverse-romance-dazzles-disappoints

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