Thai acting is not of the restrained school, usually. It is easy to catch, if you watch Korean or Japanese dramas. To me, Chinese/Taiwanese is somewhere in the middle. I did not watch series from Philippines yet (but plan to), but the general rule worldwide is that the closer a drama is filmed to the equator, the more overly emotional actors need to be, so I guess their dramas are more similar to Thai ones in this aspect.
The aforementioned Sunset drama is a great example. While the two leading actors did a great job in non-crying non-verbal scenes, both of them are described as weeping and wailing crybabies in the script, and they perform accordingly, which was too much for me. And they were not overacting because I checked BTS videos and this is how they naturally cry. Only by the second season the characters are maturing and the actors were instructed to tone it down a bit.
If the very same series was filmed in Korea or Japan (or in the Northern Europe, for that matter), the crying aspect would have been radically downscaled. But this is how people express themselves in those cultures, unlike Thailand. I would have preferred the northern way because I myself more from that type of culture. Even though I am a crybaby myself, I am not wailing aloud. And this is why I respect the Untamed’s second lead performance because it was requiring a limited set of nuanced tools to do the job.
But this is just me, so I consciously try to discard my preferences when I “objectively” (LOL) judge. So I did not subtract any points from the Sunset because of this. (The same goes for the series’ tempo, which is so slow that some can not even finish the first episode, but this is also intentional.)
With Chinese dramas there is also the nearly wall to wall dubbing issue, which splits actors’ performances into two. I understand the benefit, though: for example, the natural speaking voice of the actor for the stoic character in The Untamed is not that good (though his singing voice is).
As to the IMDB, this is the site I was using in the first place. I did not even think of this one until I have stumbled upon the fact that the IMDB does not care to include lots of dramas and actors from Asia, it is too costly for Amazon. Did you know that Jeff Bezos does not have enough money? So I had to register on this site/application (which is a glitchy mess).
LOL at the comment you pulled. This should be carved out at the MDL tombstone as the site is nearly all about it.
Also, I would actually like to search for series with sex the beginning (like Make It Right etc), though there is no way for that in this database. Especially after 2gether series, which was the worst case of the opposite that I have maybe ever watched. Strangers that cross each other on the streets have more desire and affection to each other than the main couple, Bright and Win, there. By the second season I came to a conclusion that the only way to rationally explain the series is that Win’s character was secretly castrated, LOL.
To be fair, I do not even mind people not acting as rabbits immediately, but at least show me attraction. In the Sunset series, the couple was brought together like magnets, you could feel it.
I'm sorry but I usually judge a series as a whole and not for the beauty of the actors. If a series is worth it,…
That is fair, but maybe you have noticed cute actors there. If this was a general drama series, it would not have mattered. But the BL genre sometimes makes me watch series that I would certainly have never watched otherwise, LOL. BTW, I like your double name: sounds elegant.
Well, that is what Asian thick skin is gifting you. Europeans have paper thin skin, so they age nothing like the rest of the world that, in general looks much better for much longer.
WORTH WATCHING because of the lads.The storytelling is confusing because the authors have forgot to properly leave…
Namely, a lad’s former girlfriend asks for “the last kiss” and the lad agrees to it, even though he has a boyfriend now.
I wonder what he would do if she would have asked him for “the last sex” and then to father their “last child” and then to raise it until s/he would graduate from university and bring them grand children.
Fuck this lad, this is what I say. Unless he is in a free, polyamorius relationship, he can not do this. I do not empathise with him at all, and I do not root for him to get back to his boyfriend. I say them being apart would be the happy ending.
But scenarists wierdly suggest otherwise, and it is not warranted by the story.
That studio was closed in 2022, so, I guess, for artsy BL productions with lots of non-verbal performances by actors, deep colours and shadows (which otherwise do not exist anywhere) we can only go other countries now? Though, it is rare everywhere.
I do not get easily impressed by actors’ play, I just mostly see it as competent and job done as roles require and how directors want it. In most BL series there is nothing much to play as the actors only need to portray basic emotions that reflect basic situations basic scenarios put them into.
As to Thai BL actors, I do not even know how good they actually are or not simply because of the material they work on.
I can only maybe note actor Gun, but this is pretty explainable because he was acting since childhood and was winning auditions for that way before he has become a miniature diva he is known to be today. He was getting awards twenty years ago and he had got yet another one last year, which is pretty consistent. But due to his accolades he is periodically given some good material to work on that other BL actors do not get access to, so I can not say that other actors are necessarily any worse.
But the biggest impression of actor work among all Thai films I have watched so far was an old actress’ performance in the episode 10 of Until We Meet Again (2019). She has went though several transformations of states and emotions in one scene. Her work was stunning, and that series was worth watching for me for that alone. The main BL actor there was also praised, but I can not stress anything in this case.
Yes, am aware of the danger of burnout, but I have great levels of patience for things like this. Otherwise, I would not have watched like 10K anime titles by now (which is not even remotely a record, but a serious number). I still can differentiate mediocre anime from rare excellent works, I did not become dull yet.
Also, I do not watch everything from each year. Only series that were either popular or praised or had actors I like visually. I have found a few good series this way.
Besides, since I was never looking for series that were getting awards, without the chronological order I would not have watched I Told Sunset About You, for example, because its rating here is just 8.1, which is nothing unusual, so this series was not in my focus at all. Too bad this database is absolutely useless if you want to find series with lots of non-verbal acting and epic cinematography with deep colours/shades (almost none GMMTV series ever have that).
Finally, we can always switch our interests back and forth. For example, I do not watch any anime lately, but I will surely back to it some time later. I am growing hunger this way.
I did not yet watch newer series because after I have watched some series randomly, I decided to go methodical and watch Thai series first (except for the Untamed and Word of Honor in the future), and chronologically. This has thrown me all the way back to My Bromance (2014), a great film first but with a wacky trashy twist in the end, and Love Sick (2014) series. By now I got to 2020, so the goodies you have mentioned are upcoming.
The fans you have mentioned are probably in their early teens either physically or mentally, so for them any simplest thing means either a BL couple “truly in love”, “the ship is real” or the opposite. There are even some fans who randomly post that some one is in hospital (though he is not), LOL. Anything for drama.
In the Untamed, I especially liked the performance of the lead actor. A hundred percent believable rendition. His co-star could not do this because he had to play a stoic character.
The funny thing is in that pseudo historical settings EVERYONE would have to behave and express himself as that second lad, with very minimal acting. An eye squint here, an eyebrow imperceptible raise there. This would have been more believable for the setting, though not so fun for the viewers.
I finally found a Thai series that I could recommend almost without reservations. It is nearly a work of art in terms of how it is done all around. It is called I Told Sunset About You (2020) and its second season. The difference between those works from Nadao studio and 2gether (2020) from GMMTV I watched right before it is so startling that it felt like a revelation. I would not call it “BL” even because it is a genuinely serious work. And it is nearly entirely realistic in terms of how things might happen with the characters like this. So if you did not watch it yet, it might be worth to do it some time.
I also watched The Untamed (2019) in the meantime. It was fully engaging, as expected. Epic, poetic, etc, though not without some issues with the details of what is happening.
Some time ago we discussed performative flirting between actors in “couples”, and this series has presented me with a great example how people can do it even with no attraction at all. The series has an incredibly beautiful actress who has played a medical witch (who has cared about her brother the whole time). The point is, I would have zero issues flirting or kissing with her, if she would be fine doing it with me. So this is probably what straight lads feel when they get cute lads as their partners and need to do this for promotion.
Things would have been different with a different person. So I feel sad imagining if somebody within GMMTV management assigned you a partner, however cute, who is not even your type visually, and yet you have to accommodate to it and brainwash yourself into liking the flirting.
Turns out that not only Phuket as in the original series, but even Bangkok can be filmed beautifully.A PSA for…
Oh’s character is not actually “girly”, we know how truly flamboyant lads behave, he is a tender romantic prince type of a character.
Obviously, his body complexion and face do not allow him to play the manliest brutes, so there is a limitation.
It is not quite believable that Teh would forget his first time with Oh, especially since it was on a beach, unless he was heavily intoxicated during the occasion, but he was not. This is because this is normally possibly the brightest memory a male can have. The hormonal rush males experience in those cases is insane, it is unforgettable even if you want to forget it. It is such a unique new experience.
Normally directors have more than one actor per a main role in plays for a case if something happens. Especially with students because they are inexperienced.
A PSA: you can download an archive of your Instagram photos and then delete them from your account, and this way you both save the photos and make your IG “hack” safe.
Yet another obvious PSA, though not directly about the series: just because someone looks angelic does not mean s/he has a character of an angel, even though scientifically there is somewhat higher chance for this.
Turns out that not only Phuket as in the original series, but even Bangkok can be filmed beautifully.
A PSA for anyone who wants to do acting: do school plays before going to higher education with this major. Also, do not ever think that “one day, my time will come”, because this mindset will destroy you almost certainly since only a minuscule part of a percentage of millions of actors can ever have a decent living. In other words, you should hope for the better, but not expect it. Even if you look great and can actually act well, it does not mean you will be successful. Too many people already in the business. You have to love the journey, not the destination.
ANOTHER Captain The Obvious PSA: you should never promise to forever love someone because it is not up to you if this will happen or not. Love is a sustained hormonal biochemical process that can die out or switch focus on a new person, and there is nothing you can do about it. Also, for this reason, you should not hate your exes if you were dumped just because the ex has failen for some one else. This hate is natural, but you can deal with it better if you raise the issue from the emotional subconsciousness to a conscious level where you can understand how love actually work and not blame people for losing it. Of course, you should blame your exes, if they have done something objectively bad.
Also, you should know that what people think as “love” usually lasts like three months. In rare cases, it lasts for three-four years. if you have a relationship like that it is already a good run for a couple. It is evolutionary based because this is the age when a baby can already move around reliably enough. So it is normal for people to move on. But if your love lasts for longer, it is quite extraordinary.
Of course, this materiastic view is not romantic at all, and this can be sad. But in reality you have to be grateful if you have had a few years of mutual love.
One minor mistake: whether you have elevated heartbeat or not does not necessarily mean love for gays because…
Well, one could call Bas a cute puppy for sure, but I meant a literal dog this time. In terms of Instagram, lots of what is happening in the series is tied to it, so I am not sure which scene with it you are talking about. I would not want to spoil anything beforehand.
(Tw: opinion)Every review is over a 9, but I genuinely couldn't even finish episode one. I kept trying to FORCE…
This project is poetic right from its name to how it is told and how it is ends. It is very rewarding eventually, makes you cry and envious of the moments of tenderness and intimacy displayed, but you are right, it might be not for everyone and not for every mood. My advice is maybe to get back to it after a while.
WOW, the cinematography of the first episode is just incredible.So much contrast, shadows and colours. And the…
One minor mistake: whether you have elevated heartbeat or not does not necessarily mean love for gays because if you lay in one bed with a cute lad you would get this and other reactions (YKWIM) without any love at all.
The characters are believable. This is the way how teenagers could behave in real life. Especially with teen anxiety, societal and family pressure of a provincial city, confusion, doubt, torn, conflicted, lying to themselves, being in denial, doing stupid things out of love.
Character Oh is so cute and delicate that my instinct is to immediately give up, give in, surrender myself to him completely. You want to care and protect him, do everything possible for the lad. And, mind you, I am not in love with him, I just saw him for the first time, but this was already enough. His soft and tender voice alone could melt an iceberg of heart, so adorable it is.
I would not be able to behave myself towards the lad the way Teh character did, but this is just me, the story is still believable.
Of course, what Teh character gets is fully deserved and understandable. It is the result of his own decisions and actions. Though he is still pitiful.
His weepings were too much for me, but some people are exactly like that in real life, so I am not counting this as a drawback, either. He was called a “crybaby” in the script, so he is meant to be this way.
Character Bas is such a graceful and elegant character, the innocent victim in all of this.
If I were to make a sarcastic take on the story, this main pair’s larger than life friendship is the ficklest thing ever because those two want or ghost each other for another five years in every opportunity given.
Yes, that underwater kiss is absolutely unreal, but this is the case where it does not matter. It is poetry.
And there is a cute dog! This is what you almost never see in any Thai dramas.
The aforementioned Sunset drama is a great example. While the two leading actors did a great job in non-crying non-verbal scenes, both of them are described as weeping and wailing crybabies in the script, and they perform accordingly, which was too much for me. And they were not overacting because I checked BTS videos and this is how they naturally cry. Only by the second season the characters are maturing and the actors were instructed to tone it down a bit.
If the very same series was filmed in Korea or Japan (or in the Northern Europe, for that matter), the crying aspect would have been radically downscaled. But this is how people express themselves in those cultures, unlike Thailand. I would have preferred the northern way because I myself more from that type of culture. Even though I am a crybaby myself, I am not wailing aloud. And this is why I respect the Untamed’s second lead performance because it was requiring a limited set of nuanced tools to do the job.
But this is just me, so I consciously try to discard my preferences when I “objectively” (LOL) judge. So I did not subtract any points from the Sunset because of this. (The same goes for the series’ tempo, which is so slow that some can not even finish the first episode, but this is also intentional.)
With Chinese dramas there is also the nearly wall to wall dubbing issue, which splits actors’ performances into two. I understand the benefit, though: for example, the natural speaking voice of the actor for the stoic character in The Untamed is not that good (though his singing voice is).
As to the IMDB, this is the site I was using in the first place. I did not even think of this one until I have stumbled upon the fact that the IMDB does not care to include lots of dramas and actors from Asia, it is too costly for Amazon. Did you know that Jeff Bezos does not have enough money? So I had to register on this site/application (which is a glitchy mess).
LOL at the comment you pulled. This should be carved out at the MDL tombstone as the site is nearly all about it.
Also, I would actually like to search for series with sex the beginning (like Make It Right etc), though there is no way for that in this database. Especially after 2gether series, which was the worst case of the opposite that I have maybe ever watched. Strangers that cross each other on the streets have more desire and affection to each other than the main couple, Bright and Win, there. By the second season I came to a conclusion that the only way to rationally explain the series is that Win’s character was secretly castrated, LOL.
To be fair, I do not even mind people not acting as rabbits immediately, but at least show me attraction. In the Sunset series, the couple was brought together like magnets, you could feel it.
Such a cute name! I wonder if his brothers Atrocity and Genocide are also actors or not.
I wonder what he would do if she would have asked him for “the last sex” and then to father their “last child” and then to raise it until s/he would graduate from university and bring them grand children.
Fuck this lad, this is what I say. Unless he is in a free, polyamorius relationship, he can not do this. I do not empathise with him at all, and I do not root for him to get back to his boyfriend. I say them being apart would be the happy ending.
But scenarists wierdly suggest otherwise, and it is not warranted by the story.
The storytelling is confusing because the authors have forgot to properly leave clear cues as to how much time goes by between the scenes.
StillMost importantly, the key drama turning point is so fake and absurd that I can not possibly submerge into the story.
As to Thai BL actors, I do not even know how good they actually are or not simply because of the material they work on.
I can only maybe note actor Gun, but this is pretty explainable because he was acting since childhood and was winning auditions for that way before he has become a miniature diva he is known to be today. He was getting awards twenty years ago and he had got yet another one last year, which is pretty consistent. But due to his accolades he is periodically given some good material to work on that other BL actors do not get access to, so I can not say that other actors are necessarily any worse.
But the biggest impression of actor work among all Thai films I have watched so far was an old actress’ performance in the episode 10 of Until We Meet Again (2019). She has went though several transformations of states and emotions in one scene. Her work was stunning, and that series was worth watching for me for that alone. The main BL actor there was also praised, but I can not stress anything in this case.
Yes, am aware of the danger of burnout, but I have great levels of patience for things like this. Otherwise, I would not have watched like 10K anime titles by now (which is not even remotely a record, but a serious number). I still can differentiate mediocre anime from rare excellent works, I did not become dull yet.
Also, I do not watch everything from each year. Only series that were either popular or praised or had actors I like visually. I have found a few good series this way.
Besides, since I was never looking for series that were getting awards, without the chronological order I would not have watched I Told Sunset About You, for example, because its rating here is just 8.1, which is nothing unusual, so this series was not in my focus at all. Too bad this database is absolutely useless if you want to find series with lots of non-verbal acting and epic cinematography with deep colours/shades (almost none GMMTV series ever have that).
Finally, we can always switch our interests back and forth. For example, I do not watch any anime lately, but I will surely back to it some time later. I am growing hunger this way.
The fans you have mentioned are probably in their early teens either physically or mentally, so for them any simplest thing means either a BL couple “truly in love”, “the ship is real” or the opposite. There are even some fans who randomly post that some one is in hospital (though he is not), LOL. Anything for drama.
In the Untamed, I especially liked the performance of the lead actor. A hundred percent believable rendition. His co-star could not do this because he had to play a stoic character.
The funny thing is in that pseudo historical settings EVERYONE would have to behave and express himself as that second lad, with very minimal acting. An eye squint here, an eyebrow imperceptible raise there. This would have been more believable for the setting, though not so fun for the viewers.
Not many gay themed dramas are actual art pieces, sadly.
I also watched The Untamed (2019) in the meantime. It was fully engaging, as expected. Epic, poetic, etc, though not without some issues with the details of what is happening.
Some time ago we discussed performative flirting between actors in “couples”, and this series has presented me with a great example how people can do it even with no attraction at all. The series has an incredibly beautiful actress who has played a medical witch (who has cared about her brother the whole time). The point is, I would have zero issues flirting or kissing with her, if she would be fine doing it with me. So this is probably what straight lads feel when they get cute lads as their partners and need to do this for promotion.
Things would have been different with a different person. So I feel sad imagining if somebody within GMMTV management assigned you a partner, however cute, who is not even your type visually, and yet you have to accommodate to it and brainwash yourself into liking the flirting.
Obviously, his body complexion and face do not allow him to play the manliest brutes, so there is a limitation.
It is not quite believable that Teh would forget his first time with Oh, especially since it was on a beach, unless he was heavily intoxicated during the occasion, but he was not. This is because this is normally possibly the brightest memory a male can have. The hormonal rush males experience in those cases is insane, it is unforgettable even if you want to forget it. It is such a unique new experience.
Normally directors have more than one actor per a main role in plays for a case if something happens. Especially with students because they are inexperienced.
A PSA: you can download an archive of your Instagram photos and then delete them from your account, and this way you both save the photos and make your IG “hack” safe.
Yet another obvious PSA, though not directly about the series: just because someone looks angelic does not mean s/he has a character of an angel, even though scientifically there is somewhat higher chance for this.
A PSA for anyone who wants to do acting: do school plays before going to higher education with this major. Also, do not ever think that “one day, my time will come”, because this mindset will destroy you almost certainly since only a minuscule part of a percentage of millions of actors can ever have a decent living. In other words, you should hope for the better, but not expect it. Even if you look great and can actually act well, it does not mean you will be successful. Too many people already in the business. You have to love the journey, not the destination.
ANOTHER Captain The Obvious PSA: you should never promise to forever love someone because it is not up to you if this will happen or not. Love is a sustained hormonal biochemical process that can die out or switch focus on a new person, and there is nothing you can do about it. Also, for this reason, you should not hate your exes if you were dumped just because the ex has failen for some one else. This hate is natural, but you can deal with it better if you raise the issue from the emotional subconsciousness to a conscious level where you can understand how love actually work and not blame people for losing it. Of course, you should blame your exes, if they have done something objectively bad.
Also, you should know that what people think as “love” usually lasts like three months. In rare cases, it lasts for three-four years. if you have a relationship like that it is already a good run for a couple. It is evolutionary based because this is the age when a baby can already move around reliably enough. So it is normal for people to move on. But if your love lasts for longer, it is quite extraordinary.
Of course, this materiastic view is not romantic at all, and this can be sad. But in reality you have to be grateful if you have had a few years of mutual love.
The characters are believable. This is the way how teenagers could behave in real life. Especially with teen anxiety, societal and family pressure of a provincial city, confusion, doubt, torn, conflicted, lying to themselves, being in denial, doing stupid things out of love.
Character Oh is so cute and delicate that my instinct is to immediately give up, give in, surrender myself to him completely. You want to care and protect him, do everything possible for the lad. And, mind you, I am not in love with him, I just saw him for the first time, but this was already enough. His soft and tender voice alone could melt an iceberg of heart, so adorable it is.
I would not be able to behave myself towards the lad the way Teh character did, but this is just me, the story is still believable.
Of course, what Teh character gets is fully deserved and understandable. It is the result of his own decisions and actions. Though he is still pitiful.
His weepings were too much for me, but some people are exactly like that in real life, so I am not counting this as a drawback, either. He was called a “crybaby” in the script, so he is meant to be this way.
Character Bas is such a graceful and elegant character, the innocent victim in all of this.
If I were to make a sarcastic take on the story, this main pair’s larger than life friendship is the ficklest thing ever because those two want or ghost each other for another five years in every opportunity given.
Yes, that underwater kiss is absolutely unreal, but this is the case where it does not matter. It is poetry.
And there is a cute dog! This is what you almost never see in any Thai dramas.