So... what happened?
I noticed the low ratings before starting to watch this series, so all my expectations lowered from the beginning. I wasn't expecting MLMU to be exceptionally good or exceptionally bad: I just hoped I would enjoy it at least a little.In the end, I did enjoy it, but I also feel like that enjoyment came from a handful of different moments here and there, all engulfed of very long and draggy segments. Oh, and lots of different product placements - probably the most invasive case of advertisements I've ever seen in a GMM series.
I don't think anything reached its true potential here.
- The main plot points of Kieta Hatsukoi worked in the Japanese drama, which consisted in 10 episodes of about 20 minutes each, but it felt very diluted in these 12 episodes of about 40 minutes each. After enjoying the first three or four episodes, I started getting impatient and frustrated while watching, and often found myself too bored to even pay attention during the important bits.
- The characters felt flat. The acting was amazing and I'm not taking it back, but it was hard to watch such good actors work with characters written so poorly. At their best they felt like caricatures, and they felt like cardboard cutouts at any other moment.
- Kongthap and Atom felt more like classmates who get along rather than potential lovers, and even their friendships with other characters didn't feel as sincere as they should have. Some scenes were heart-fluttering, but they felt like they were put there to make the relationships work, when it should be the exact opposite: the rest of the story was supposed to make the romantic moments hit the spot, but they never delivered fully for this exact reason.
- There were multiple themes for the series that could have been included and explored much better, but they weren't. Whoever wrote this didn't put any true passion into the story and didn't care to fix any continuity issues.
In theory, this series is supposed to work. The director and the main actors are the same as in My School President, which I've enjoyed A LOT, and the source material is a pretty good Japanese BL. In practice, it really looks like the production team threw these elements together (Fourth, Gemini, several MSP references, and the Kieta Hatsukoi plot points) and just expected things to work fine without putting extra work into it.
Since I don't like to make comparisons between series in my reviews, I'd rather avoid making them here, but it's truly hard not to. The main reason why I felt so frustrated is because I've watched Fourth and Gemini in My School President and Moonlight Chicken before, so I know that they can truly shine when the production team puts actual care in the quality of their work.
If this is your first Thai series, or you never watched My School President nor Moonlight Chicken, this can work as a cute, low-effort rom-com, as long as you have no high expectations for it. If that's not the case, then you're probably going to be very disappointed.
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It becomes a great series after the first six episodes or so
I feel like splitting this series in two parts for this review (the first six episodes and the last six) because I had a very different impression from each part. While I did end up enjoying the series a lot and I believe it deserves this 9 out of 10 I chose as my rating, I still need to express a complete opinion about it.Overall, the story has an interesting premise, but the first six episodes were not able to give it a proper start. The pace of the events feels way too slow, and the dynamics between characters are off as well.
Noey was portrayed well and caught my attention enough to keep me watching for more episodes, but Thi's characterization was handled very badly, showing some backbone for about ten seconds per episodes and then turning back to his shy, fearful and goofy self - and I don't mean it in a good way.
These first six episode could have been useful to put more emphasis on Thi's characterization and the dynamics between Noei, Thi, their friends and their families, but instead they seemed mostly full of nothing. I felt like they could have been cut down to three episodes with a better pace.
Starting from the ending of the sixth episode, the events and the dynamics get a lot better, and this is also where the series starts shining bright. Thi also earns his own proper characterization and starts showing his own presence next to Noey, making their moments together a lot more enjoyable and endearing to watch. The way the feelings of both are portrayed along the way was also beautiful and left no room for any annoying "will they, won't they?" as the episodes went by.
The groups of friends were also shown much better, especially Noey's gang, with Thiw as a special mention. The "bad boy" element was not just used as a fancy aesthetic and multiple elements of that life were taken into consideration for the plot, which I really appreciated.
A very memorable series, I highly recommend it!
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Never laughed this much for a wuxia (in a good way)
When Ling Miao Miao's favorite author, Fu Zhou, publishes a new novel, she eagerly dives into it, but the book "Monster Hunting" ends up being a disappointment with nonsensical plot points, forced dramatic events and an unsatisfying ending. Just as she's writing a negative comment about it, Miao Miao is forcefully pulled inside the story and finds herself in the shoes of the female antagonist, Lin Yu. The mysterious voice of the system then informs her of the mission she must complete: make the male antagonist Mu Shen fall in love with her and make it to the end of the story.As predictable as the premise might be, I had a lot of fun with this plot. The first few episodes show Miao Miao as she's gradually adapting to her new life as Lin Yu and works hard to make sure that nothing bad happens to any of the characters (or herself), which makes a much more hilarious experience than I had anticipated. I would say that roughly the first half of the drama is pure gold, with comedic and sentimental moments that blend well with each other. Unfortunately the second half (starting from the arc in the city) gets gradually worse as Miao Miao seems to lose her main role in favor of Zi Qi. The pace also gets worse, with many parts that feel draggy and with the last 3-4 episodes that feel terribly rushed.
The characters were all amazing and so was their acting. Esther Yu and Ding Yu Xi were the perfect cast for the main roles and their chemistry is undeniable - their bickering moments, their romantic moments, their heartbreaking moments were all so well done! I didn't have to wait long before feeling like Miao Miao, Mu Shen, Mu Yao and Fu Yi (and Cui Cui later on) truly cared about each other. Miao Miao is not the classic damsel in distress and is actually very proactive, despite being the only one in the group without strong powers to face enemies. I was half worried that the characters of the book would end up feeling cartoonish, but that wasn't the case at all, even for the villains. The supportive roles were well written and I appreciated it, although I wish they used some of the screentime for the main characters instead of exploring the lives of so many random people met along the way.
The fact that Miao Miao starts feeling less like the protagonist and more like a support character in the second half of the drama was disappointing for me. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I really wish they let her keep her autonomy all the way through, instead of moving her to the side.
The production quality is very good. I admit I haven't watched many Wuxia/Xianxia dramas before, but this one is definitely among the ones with better special effects I've ever watched. All the spells felt more vivid and weren't reduced to constant energy beams all around. The fighting scenes looked great too, with good choreographies that made them all look distinct from one another. I liked the OST for this drama and thought it fit all the scenes quite well, despite there not being any track that truly stood out to me.
If it wasn't for the last couple of episodes, this drama would have easily been a 9 out of 10 for me, if not more. I wish they gave the events of the last two episodes more build-up and more room to breathe, instead of cramping everything in 80 minutes or so. Despite this, I really enjoyed this drama and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good transmigration story.
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A pearl I wasn't expecting to find!
I was interested in the synopsis of this drama and decided to give it a chance. I'm so happy I went for it! It quickly became a favorite for how well everything was handled - the plot, the main characters, the support roles, the villains, the themes explored in the story, all of it.The story isn't anything overly original in its setup, but I absolutely love how the writers didn't try to add too much to it and sticked with building on the main elements they started with. There was a lot to work with from the beginning and the production team was able to see it and work with it! Nothing got lost along the way, nothing was left in the air for me to wonder about. Something else that I really care about in dramas and tv series is the pacing, which was perfect here. Nothing felt too rushed, nothing felt like it was dragging for too long. The events and the characters had the exact time they needed.
The characters were all lovely. The performance of the MLs was great and their chemistry was impeccable, but I especially loved their dynamics with the secondary characters and the support roles, companions and villains both. They all felt like true and complete people by the end, even the characters that felt the most caricature-like in the beginning.
I truly appreciated how the theme of reformed criminals was handled in the story. No character is entirely black or white, noone's crime is simply swept under the rug because "they're part of our family", no villain is just depicted as pure evil just because "they're part of that group". There is a lot of nuance and care and I loved to see it.
I watched this with my mother, who is much more well-versed in K-dramas than me (she watched SO MANY, seriously), and she absolutely loved it. I believe this already makes it worth recommend it to anyone who is looking for a touching rom-com.
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More fun than expected
I already guessed from the trailer that this would be a comedy of some sort, but I wasn't expecting to have this much fun.The plot revolves around a cooking competition where the winner will become the new owner of Chef Oab's stir-fried basil restaurant. Plawan is a model with a passion for stir-fried basil who is having trouble making ends meet, so he makes a deal with the rich businessman Methas: if he wins the competition, he will give Methas the restaurant for a big sum of money, and Methas will be able to do whatever he pleases with the property. Chef Oab, however, hates Methas with a passion, and he is on high alert against anyone he suspects to be allied with him. Plawan needs to learn how to cook and win all the challenges prepared by Chef Oab, all without raising his suspicions.
I'm not a big fan of plots that revolve around scams, but this one made it work by making the entire situation very lively and entertaining from the get-go. Plawan is silly, but his energy really made me root for him despite everything; his attraction to Chef Oab and his scent also made me look forward for when Plawan would finally win him over.
The plot is fun, but it has the flaw of not being very believable. I don't have issues with plots that are unlikely to come true in real life, but I had to suspend my disbelief for more than one aspect of the story and ignore a couple of plot holes. The pacing, on the other hand, is very good! I always appreciate it when the directors are aware of how much space they have for the episodes and are able to use it well. I didn't feel like any part of the story was dragging for too long, nor did anything feel rushed.
It's a story that mainly relies on the character dynamics and the events around them rather than character introspection, so don't expect much to be discovered about anyone's likes and dislikes, but it does its job well. The growing attraction between Plawan and Oab is not only believable, but very visible, and I was happy to see that as a couple they are never shy with skinship, breaking the usual dynamics of BL couples in other series. The unexpected pairing of Methas and JJ also worked great, although it probably had less sparks flying than the main couple. Last but not least, the friendships! I really like how Plawan and JJ felt like real best friends - something that is often neglected in BLs.
I didn't watch with many expectations, so maybe that's why I enjoyed this series so much and felt like being this generous with my ranking. I still want to recommend it to whoever is looking for something fun, light, and moderately spicy to watch.
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