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Solid gentle romance
GMMTV BL romance dramas tend towards the easy fluff, occasional with a bit of depth but definitely made for mass consumption by girls / young women. There are exceptions, but "My Magic Prophecy" is *not* one of those exceptions.
On the contrary, it leans hard into the sweet-sweet romance between the main couple, even ships them off to a faraway place so they can be domestic together and gently explore both their mutual attraction and address any traumatic experiences of the past.
So, anyone who wants a deep exploration into belief systems beyond motivational quotes or who wants a gripping thriller about chasing a murderer or a heart-wrenching story about friendship and betrayal? You are in the wrong place.
Both the crime part and the romantic parts of the drama are almost ridiculously simple; I knew the culprit two episodes in, and the romance is nothing but predictable.
As always, in these cases, I do mourn the potential for a drama with more depth -- especially the friendship between Thap and Karn is woefully underexplored for its impact to the plot -- and there are some minor points that are teased but never even mentioned again, for example why the family would fall apart without Thap.
Although I have to concede that this drama never pretends to be more than a simple romance, and it makes it rather clear in the first episode already.
For what it is -- a gentle romance -- is was good. The characters get just enough backstory and character development as to be not boring, the surrounding plot (about who wants to kill Thap) and the romantic plot fit nicely together. I didn't feel that the story went around in circles (unlike "Memoir of Rati") or dropped sudden plot or backstory on us (unlike "Sweet Tooth Good Dentist"). The villagers are predictably cliched and the secondary couple's story line stays a quick outline, never to be fleshed out enough.
So, overall, in my opinion, this drama has a solid, though not outstanding, screenplay.
Both main actors were fine, and First Kanaphan's acting was subtle enough to offset some of the clumsy writing for his character. Everybody else didn't have a lot to work with, so I can't say how good they were.
Technically, it comes up to the usual GMMTV standards -- although I wish they would stop following the trend of using the smallest depth of field possible -- at times it's so bad that *nothing* is in focus any more for a second of two. I also find it exhausting when they constantly switch the focus from one person to the other in one single shot -- why not increase the depth of field that I can see both characters and their facial expressions simultaneously?
The usual product placements were also there but mostly integrated into the story.
One thing I did like was the mostly balanced relationship dynamics -- this is not a story about the (emotionally) strong top healing their (traumatized) bottom -- they both have their difficulties, even if those are very different: one is still grieving his parents and the other is threatened by outside forces. I found the relationship and character progression mostly solidly written (within the constraints of the genre, of course).
Was it good?
It's a very typical GMMTV romance; and among those, I'd place it in the upper third.
Did I like it?
As always, I waited for the right mood to come along. It was nothing outstanding, and I will have forgotten most of it in a month or so, but I cannot say I was bored or annoyed.
Who would I recommend it to?
To those who love simple and gentle romances.
On the contrary, it leans hard into the sweet-sweet romance between the main couple, even ships them off to a faraway place so they can be domestic together and gently explore both their mutual attraction and address any traumatic experiences of the past.
So, anyone who wants a deep exploration into belief systems beyond motivational quotes or who wants a gripping thriller about chasing a murderer or a heart-wrenching story about friendship and betrayal? You are in the wrong place.
Both the crime part and the romantic parts of the drama are almost ridiculously simple; I knew the culprit two episodes in, and the romance is nothing but predictable.
As always, in these cases, I do mourn the potential for a drama with more depth -- especially the friendship between Thap and Karn is woefully underexplored for its impact to the plot -- and there are some minor points that are teased but never even mentioned again, for example why the family would fall apart without Thap.
Although I have to concede that this drama never pretends to be more than a simple romance, and it makes it rather clear in the first episode already.
For what it is -- a gentle romance -- is was good. The characters get just enough backstory and character development as to be not boring, the surrounding plot (about who wants to kill Thap) and the romantic plot fit nicely together. I didn't feel that the story went around in circles (unlike "Memoir of Rati") or dropped sudden plot or backstory on us (unlike "Sweet Tooth Good Dentist"). The villagers are predictably cliched and the secondary couple's story line stays a quick outline, never to be fleshed out enough.
So, overall, in my opinion, this drama has a solid, though not outstanding, screenplay.
Both main actors were fine, and First Kanaphan's acting was subtle enough to offset some of the clumsy writing for his character. Everybody else didn't have a lot to work with, so I can't say how good they were.
Technically, it comes up to the usual GMMTV standards -- although I wish they would stop following the trend of using the smallest depth of field possible -- at times it's so bad that *nothing* is in focus any more for a second of two. I also find it exhausting when they constantly switch the focus from one person to the other in one single shot -- why not increase the depth of field that I can see both characters and their facial expressions simultaneously?
The usual product placements were also there but mostly integrated into the story.
One thing I did like was the mostly balanced relationship dynamics -- this is not a story about the (emotionally) strong top healing their (traumatized) bottom -- they both have their difficulties, even if those are very different: one is still grieving his parents and the other is threatened by outside forces. I found the relationship and character progression mostly solidly written (within the constraints of the genre, of course).
Was it good?
It's a very typical GMMTV romance; and among those, I'd place it in the upper third.
Did I like it?
As always, I waited for the right mood to come along. It was nothing outstanding, and I will have forgotten most of it in a month or so, but I cannot say I was bored or annoyed.
Who would I recommend it to?
To those who love simple and gentle romances.
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