Charbonnel

I’m not the only one who’s wondering about this then, I’ve seen a few shows currently airing or recently finished airing where seemingly overnight the ratings tank for no apparent reason; I get that some series have generous ratings but why and how can any show tank by 0.5 or more so quickly? The timeframe for the drop here is similar on some other shows at the moment too.

Ahh, I didn’t realise that the Taiwanese fans were unhappy about it. I can’t comment on Sunset, but Cherry Magic (while cliche) is still enjoyable to watch. This may be doomed if the Taiwanese fans are already displeased though, even is it does alright internationally.

If the writer’s the same as MODC, I wouldn’t be surprised if fans decided to skip this - especially now that Lin Pei Yu has two shows airing in the first half of 2021; and I prefer her writing by a long shot when comparing Trapped (or even HIStory2) and MODC. Wouldn’t be surprised if other fans felt the same.?

I just realised (while watching an edit) - the poor translators! This one would not have been the easiest to give subtitles to when translating to other languages because Lee Shi Kang’s dialogue is all (or close enough to all) in Korean, while some of Mu Ji Hsu’s dialogue is in Mandarin, with some of it in Korean. Having realised this, more props to the actors because there must have been a bit of a language barrier in filming. As for the translators, they’d either need to speak Mandarin + Korean + target subtitle language, have multiple translators (some who speak Korean, some who speak Mandarin), or base their subtitles off of other translations (really not ideal, things easily get lost doing this).

With all that in mind, I’m more impressed than I was at the time of viewing in this regard; and also think it’s a cool concept of featuring characters (and actors) who speak different languages - although I do also recall it irritating some people that the weird language situation is like this and there is no explanation (apart from Lin Xun) as to which characters understand Korean, or as to why they don’t all speak the same language throughout the conversations. This made for some conversations that were jarring to some audience members (I don’t mind although explanation would have been ideal).

I’m kind of sad to hear that, I was excited for the potential of a female in the main cast, even though the series is focused gay relationships.

I hope they handle her character well and give her dimensions beyond being a typical irritating fujoshi - and if they do write her as a typical fujoshi, at the very least make comment on how typical fujoshi behaviour makes people uncomfortable. Doesn’t seem likely though.
I’m thinking of Tang Yi’s sister (HIStory3: Trapped) and Fei Sheng Zhe’s friend (HIStory2: Right or Wrong) as examples of better written female characters although both of these were supporting cast rather than main cast.

It’ll be sad if it does... If it flops I feel it may be the end of HIStory, but if it’s good and does well it might increase the number of HIStory fans and help it get renewed for another season.
You’re probably right though, because it’s been a long time since HIStory3 and it seems that the hype over HIStory has since died down, so unless this gets good promotion, many people may not find it. Especially because in all the previous years the next season would be announced straight away - yet this has been announced an entire year after the last one aired.

Fingers crossed this is on par with or even better than HIStory3 though, and here’s to hoping it doesn’t flop. I do recall them saying the standard has been raised again on the official posts, hopefully it’ll be good!

Thank you! :)

Thanks! Does that mean that VIP members will see episode 3 next week?

Episode 1 was great, and I’m thinking that this will be good thanks to the director. I’m really liking the more serious tone this is going for, it also seems to be going for understated rather than melodramatic; which is also refreshing in comparison to other Thai drama I’ve seen.

Also, I’m loving the setting, I’ve never seen dramas set in more rural parts of Thailand, it’s gorgeous and makes me want to see more!

The only iffy thing I noticed (probably due to camera angles) was that the dead body was (quite visibly) breathing - sorry, but they could’ve at least tried to be more subtle about this, either by holding their breath or making their breathing shallower (or potentially editing out in post). Besides that hiccup, I really enjoyed the episode.

Does anyone know how or why episode 2 is already up in some places?

Does this mean Lin Pei Yu might be starting her own series similar to HIStory, but with all of it written by her? Reason I’m wondering is because this format for the two “We Best Love” shows looks very similar to HIStory’s first season. If this is what’s going on, I’ll probably stick with it because I’m a fan of her writing - not only did she write HIStory shows, but also Bromance, which I like a lot.

At this rate, he may manage to surpass Meng Shao Fei’s record of saying “Tang Yi” 134 times in HIStory3: Trapped. We shall see!

Okay! Finished it, and liked it overall. The romance felt unnecessary as the plot could have easily carried itself, that being said I did think there were a couple of nice moments. I loved the gaming side of the show, and also Jin Woong’s character.

The first reason I chose to watch it was actually because of Lee Jae Wook, because I’ve seen him in Search : WWW and Extraordinary You, as well as DDSSLLS (currently watching). I know his part was small, but he absolutely pulled off Marco’s part, which is very impressive having seen him in massively contrasting roles elsewhere.

Also, shout out to Hyun Bin’s ability to limp! That was commitment, and it isn’t easy to continuously adjust your gait like that either. Haven’t seen Hyun Bin before but his acting was amazing! :)

UPDATE: (this happened 2 hours ago) on history_official_tw :
HIStory Official IG just did a post stating “HIStory4 - Close to Love You” is coming soon, and that is had “improved quality than the previous three seasons specifications”.

It also says about the main cast being 184 cm average height, and there’s also a female lead this time who’s also tall (174cm).

The post also said it was “opened a day ago” and “starring the group Ku Shenzhen, An Chun-an, Chen Li-an, Lim Kawei, and Ki Xin-ying attended the opening ceremony”
The director is Chen Xiao-Yan, also mentioned in the most.

EDIT: there’s 3 new posts from two hours ago about this show, and the other two seem to refer to the plot/synopsis but have evidently poor automatic translations, however the first post which covers casting and announcement was somewhat more understandable from the automatic translation.

I’m on episode 7, and really enjoying it, it isn’t often that a gaming concept is pulled off this well, usually gaming concepts end up messy or have a good concept but fail to deliver. As a gamer, loving this so far!

Mike and Toptap are so much fun in this! I agree that they’d do well in a sitcom, they make a great comedy duo.

Having read 40 chapters in to the novel (there’s 166 chapters total, I will eventually get through the rest), there’s quite a few things I’ve realised.

Note : To anyone who’s thinking of watching this, go for it. I’d recommend if you want to understand the story that you also read the novel (it will make a lot more sense even if you only read some of the novel), but also a warning that the novel is 18+ and has some very NSFW content that isn’t for everyone. The drama is also 18+ but I’d say is way milder than the novel.

I’m pretty sure none of this will count as spoilers.

1. Snakes were totally left out of the drama. I was surprised by how significant they are in the novel, they relate to a large part of Chi Cheng’s character and the fact that there’s no mention of them at all in the drama seems odd. (Although I understand it’s probably quite an undertaking to feature snakes because of handling, fees, etc.)

2. Again, Chi Cheng isn’t really as understandable in the drama, because in the first part of the novel it is explained that his family forces him to work for various police type jobs - and this is when he coincidentally encounters Wu Suo Wei a few times. This also leaves out how scary his character is, even when doing police work, and in the drama it’s never really explained (as far as I remember) what kind of person he is.

3. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall the bricks being explained in the drama either, or at the very least it isn’t made clear that Wu Suo Wei was hitting his head with bricks as a stunt-like method to essentially blackmail his girlfriend into staying with him. This also means that the later scene in the street with Chi Cheng makes it look more like Wu Suo Wei is trying to hit Chi Cheng with a brick, when this isn’t the case.

4. Both of the main leads are terrifying people, or would be if they existed beyond the novel. Chi Cheng is inherently not a human being I’d ever want to encounter outside dramaland... Wu Suo Wei’s level of determination and absolute lack of fear amaze me, any rational person who knows what Chi Cheng is like would have a least a hint of uncertainty / fear and not think of messing with him. Wu Suo Wei seems to not be remotely bothered by Chi Cheng’s antics.

5. There’s more about Xiang Shuai (Wu Suo Wei’s doctor friend) in the novel, and I like his character a lot! He’s more relatable and endearing than the rest of the characters, and I really like his side of the story.

I totally agree! I wouldn’t say there’s any Thai BL I’d actually recommend to people, just because of the issues you mentioned amongst others. There’s a far better chance of finding a better Japanese, Taiwanese, or Filipino drama worth recommending - and notice that like this drama that typically dramas from these countries get far less watchers.
This drama is also one that I’d happily recommend to just about anyone who likes well written rom-coms, as it has a fun and quirky story and good acting.

I’m loving that this puts a silly grin on my face every week, it’s a very fun show without feeling silly. Also, I’m pleased with how the writers are dealing with Adachi and Kurosawa, as we get both of their perspectives, Adachi’s awkwardness / shyness doesn’t feel unnatural and Kurosawa, who on the outside seems perfect, is more human than you’d initially think.

Episode 7 was good! :)

I watch Thai BL, but definitely not a stan (most of what I watch isn’t Thai), there are a lot of scary stans though - they ship specific actors irl and it’s often quite toxic.

I also think most people who watch mainly Thai BL wouldn’t necessarily take to Japanese writing - I love the writing from Japanese dramas, it’s usually much more subtle with a very different style of humour. Also, what the other replies say sounds pretty accurate :)
I do agree with you though, let’s avoid the bringing weird stans here, keep the comment section friendly too!
(P.S: Unrelated but there’s a really scary comment section on one currently airing Thai BL (Tonhon Chonlatee) at the moment - I’ve never seen so many fights in a comment section!)

That’s very interesting to hear, being that I saw you’ve linked a translation, I think I’ll give it a read, because the original sounds more interesting. Sometimes makes me wonder why a the director would alter it so much..?

Also sounds like the director added unnecessary conflict out of fear that viewers wouldn’t be interested without it, which I feel is not the case if the original content is well written.
Thanks for your response :)

I hope not, if we’re lucky the trailers focused on the first part of the show to leave most of it unspoiled for us to be entertained at.. very much would like this to be full 13 eps.