This review may contain spoilers
An okay watch for some laughs (or if you're not a hypercritical fan of the JP og or EarthMix)
(This review was copy-pasted and edited from my comment on this page)
The og 2018 JP ver is a special show for me as it's one of the first BLs I've watched (tho I'm not sure if it was even intended to be a traditional "BL" in the first place, it's more of an office comedy slice of life that have LGBTQ+ main characters. Also there wasn't much BLs back when it was released so this show was kinda one of the firsts and a "classic" if you may among JP BLs) so i made this review and my first time doing so. I've also only recently knew EarthMix after watching ATOTS (wc im late to but really liked a lot btw) and seeing their cameo in the jp s2. So I was kinda looking forward to see this and finished it a while ago with mixed feelings. I'm only gonna share my views about this adaptation and if you're interested i think it's better to watch and judge for yourself.
POSITIVES (for me):
• I do commend the 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 esp. the leads and the chief. So far I only know of earthmix as Phupha and Tian so it was refreshing to see them playing different roles.
• It had 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 and I had a good laugh. I was already expecting the silliness and cringe bc I've seen the og version. However some of comedic bits didn't hit as much (such as the zoom effects wc compared to the og kinda fit more) and I guess it's not easy to exactly pull off the slapstick/kinda absurd comedy of the jp ver but i can understand that this is a different version so it didn't bother me as much.
• I also thought they did 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗲𝘁𝗰. from the og 2018 ver to fit the current time, also appreciate showing some of Thai culture.
- I like the chief's character here a little bit more than the jp s1 ver. I think they gave him more depth and showed his sort of "moving on" arc, wc is a bit similar to the s2 chief (that i prefered more).
- The ost is pretty catchy as well, i liked that opening theme lol (but it doesn't beat "Revival" by Sukima Switch).
- The VR rejection. I thought it was creative and more modern, i probably would have liked it less if they did it copy paste like the og and end up being less memorable.
- I also like how they 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴/𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼/𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. If i remember correctly in the og they don't know each other prior to the main story, plus i think they communicated more here (wc is a bit lacking in og s1 but was more present in s2).
- It was 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 during the wedding arc and he actually tells Mo about it. It was one of the things that was frustrating in the og bc Haruta never cleared it to Maki during their "breakup" that he doesn't actually want to marry the chief.
- Mo's dad accepting Heng occurred much earlier (in the og he was more strict and only accepted Haruta in s2). Tho it might feel a bit too fast or simplistic how he accepted Heng but idk this is just my preference bc I like that they got Mo's parents blessing earlier.
• 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗞𝗲𝗶-𝘀𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗼𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮'𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗼. Just like Earthmix cameo in olr s2, I just like it when crossovers happen lol. And it also felt like a nod/appreciation to the og version.
• 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳'𝘀 "𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘆". Just like "Haru-tan" in the og, it's as silly, over the top, and oddly adorable and cringey as ever lololol.
LESS POSITIVE/MIXED FEELINGS (and some personal gripes):
• 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳'𝘀 𝗲𝘅-𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿. I can see how having the chief divorce his wife bc he's secretly gay and not even explaining it well to her can be questionable in today's standards, but Choko-san was one of the best characters in the og imho, I'm honestly not opposed to the daughter but her character felt a bit weaker. However i do think she was important in thai ver chief's self-love and moving on arc so maybe this is just my bias towards choko-san lol (also we didn't get an age gap couple representation like choko and maro/newyear in thai ver).
• Heng's character in this ver 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝟯𝟬+ 𝘆𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱. The og Haruta is a lazy, irresponsible and kinda dense character but he didn't feel innocent or "pure". Yeah he was pure and kind but not in a "baby-like" way? Idk if this even makes sense lol.
• 𝗠𝗼'𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴. I can understand him being insecure about what Heng's mom said about Chi, but I'm a bit confused about him being worried about other people's views. In the og it was a bit more understandable bc as far as i know Japan is more conservative regarding lgbtq and it was set in 2018. Maki was also unsure if Haruta can even be in a relationship with a guy because he used to be "straight" (and i don't remember Heng being shown/suggested as a "straight guy who likes girls with big boobs" unlike Haruta lol). However in the thai ver, it was pretty clear to me that Heng was willing to be ina relationship with Mo depsite them both being guys and there wasn't homophobic characters if remember correctly, so i was just a bit ??? about Mo's reasons.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 imo (i honestly don't mind dance numbers if it makes sense in the story, like for intance if the show is about idols). I do think it made sense during chief's proposal and the coworker's wedding but the one in the last ep felt like filler to extend the runtime. Preferably they could have made them shorter.
• The whole 𝗮𝗺𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮 thingy (wc btw was also done in a similar way on the jp movie but instead of Heng/Haruta is was the chief and was also as weird and silly as it gets lol) as well as other questionable plot points that I won't go into detail (bc im not smart enough to analyze everything lol). I was honestly wondering how they will resolve the wedding arc and they did this. Idk, i know it's fictional and I'm generous in suspending my disbelief but it was just a bit too silly for me 😅
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
It wasn't a perfect show or adaptation, I actually didn't mind most of the changes and I quite enjoyed this ver, but if I watched it with no prior knowledge/bias about the og ver or the actors, there isn't much special about it and I feel it could have been improved more. Just like the og ver it's good to watch without thinking too much or if you want to have some laughs. I rated it an 8 considering my bias towards the og and familiarity with the actors, but without it this could have got a 7.5 from me.
The og 2018 JP ver is a special show for me as it's one of the first BLs I've watched (tho I'm not sure if it was even intended to be a traditional "BL" in the first place, it's more of an office comedy slice of life that have LGBTQ+ main characters. Also there wasn't much BLs back when it was released so this show was kinda one of the firsts and a "classic" if you may among JP BLs) so i made this review and my first time doing so. I've also only recently knew EarthMix after watching ATOTS (wc im late to but really liked a lot btw) and seeing their cameo in the jp s2. So I was kinda looking forward to see this and finished it a while ago with mixed feelings. I'm only gonna share my views about this adaptation and if you're interested i think it's better to watch and judge for yourself.
POSITIVES (for me):
• I do commend the 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 esp. the leads and the chief. So far I only know of earthmix as Phupha and Tian so it was refreshing to see them playing different roles.
• It had 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 and I had a good laugh. I was already expecting the silliness and cringe bc I've seen the og version. However some of comedic bits didn't hit as much (such as the zoom effects wc compared to the og kinda fit more) and I guess it's not easy to exactly pull off the slapstick/kinda absurd comedy of the jp ver but i can understand that this is a different version so it didn't bother me as much.
• I also thought they did 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗲𝘁𝗰. from the og 2018 ver to fit the current time, also appreciate showing some of Thai culture.
- I like the chief's character here a little bit more than the jp s1 ver. I think they gave him more depth and showed his sort of "moving on" arc, wc is a bit similar to the s2 chief (that i prefered more).
- The ost is pretty catchy as well, i liked that opening theme lol (but it doesn't beat "Revival" by Sukima Switch).
- The VR rejection. I thought it was creative and more modern, i probably would have liked it less if they did it copy paste like the og and end up being less memorable.
- I also like how they 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴/𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼/𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. If i remember correctly in the og they don't know each other prior to the main story, plus i think they communicated more here (wc is a bit lacking in og s1 but was more present in s2).
- It was 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 during the wedding arc and he actually tells Mo about it. It was one of the things that was frustrating in the og bc Haruta never cleared it to Maki during their "breakup" that he doesn't actually want to marry the chief.
- Mo's dad accepting Heng occurred much earlier (in the og he was more strict and only accepted Haruta in s2). Tho it might feel a bit too fast or simplistic how he accepted Heng but idk this is just my preference bc I like that they got Mo's parents blessing earlier.
• 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗞𝗲𝗶-𝘀𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗼𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮'𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗼. Just like Earthmix cameo in olr s2, I just like it when crossovers happen lol. And it also felt like a nod/appreciation to the og version.
• 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳'𝘀 "𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘆". Just like "Haru-tan" in the og, it's as silly, over the top, and oddly adorable and cringey as ever lololol.
LESS POSITIVE/MIXED FEELINGS (and some personal gripes):
• 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳'𝘀 𝗲𝘅-𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿. I can see how having the chief divorce his wife bc he's secretly gay and not even explaining it well to her can be questionable in today's standards, but Choko-san was one of the best characters in the og imho, I'm honestly not opposed to the daughter but her character felt a bit weaker. However i do think she was important in thai ver chief's self-love and moving on arc so maybe this is just my bias towards choko-san lol (also we didn't get an age gap couple representation like choko and maro/newyear in thai ver).
• Heng's character in this ver 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝟯𝟬+ 𝘆𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱. The og Haruta is a lazy, irresponsible and kinda dense character but he didn't feel innocent or "pure". Yeah he was pure and kind but not in a "baby-like" way? Idk if this even makes sense lol.
• 𝗠𝗼'𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗴. I can understand him being insecure about what Heng's mom said about Chi, but I'm a bit confused about him being worried about other people's views. In the og it was a bit more understandable bc as far as i know Japan is more conservative regarding lgbtq and it was set in 2018. Maki was also unsure if Haruta can even be in a relationship with a guy because he used to be "straight" (and i don't remember Heng being shown/suggested as a "straight guy who likes girls with big boobs" unlike Haruta lol). However in the thai ver, it was pretty clear to me that Heng was willing to be ina relationship with Mo depsite them both being guys and there wasn't homophobic characters if remember correctly, so i was just a bit ??? about Mo's reasons.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 imo (i honestly don't mind dance numbers if it makes sense in the story, like for intance if the show is about idols). I do think it made sense during chief's proposal and the coworker's wedding but the one in the last ep felt like filler to extend the runtime. Preferably they could have made them shorter.
• The whole 𝗮𝗺𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮 thingy (wc btw was also done in a similar way on the jp movie but instead of Heng/Haruta is was the chief and was also as weird and silly as it gets lol) as well as other questionable plot points that I won't go into detail (bc im not smart enough to analyze everything lol). I was honestly wondering how they will resolve the wedding arc and they did this. Idk, i know it's fictional and I'm generous in suspending my disbelief but it was just a bit too silly for me 😅
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
It wasn't a perfect show or adaptation, I actually didn't mind most of the changes and I quite enjoyed this ver, but if I watched it with no prior knowledge/bias about the og ver or the actors, there isn't much special about it and I feel it could have been improved more. Just like the og ver it's good to watch without thinking too much or if you want to have some laughs. I rated it an 8 considering my bias towards the og and familiarity with the actors, but without it this could have got a 7.5 from me.
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