SOTUS (2016)

Unforgettable and Worth Repeating

If you're into fluff and cloud9 stories, but with life lessons in between, this is for you!
Looks innocent enough, but before you know it, you're hooked! You can't stop watching until you finish the whole series.
The story is fast-paced and realistic. Gives you the feeling that you want to know what will happen next ASAP! For some people, they would probably easily relate to this story. There are also scenes that will make you think twice about yourself. You can learn a lesson or two, especially for the younger generation.
All the actors are good, even for newbies. Usually, I see awkward moments in this kind of stories, especially if the actors don't have much experience in acting, but this one had close to none!
High-level giggling going on. Possible lip-biting and covering of eyes. Tears will flow a little bit. Overall, fun to watch.
Caution: ADDICTING! You will find yourself rewatching before you can stop yourself.

Leia Mais

Definitely worth the hype!

Surprisingly, for the length of this show, it didn't feel long at all. I've had shows with half the amount of episodes, feel longer. This kept me engaged and entertained despite the fact nothing drastic really happened.

This is a sloooowwww burn on the BL aspect, which isn't my favorite, but SOTUS was successful in my book.

My only real "complaint" I guess is there is something about Singto's acting in this that just didn't sell me on the romantic chemistry aspect. Kongpop was brave, funny, and cheeky. Singto aced all of these areas in his role, however it just felt like the spark was missing between Singto and Krist. Krist did amazing in all areas, including the romantic chemistry. Krist has such expressive eyes. But something about Singto's acting just missed this mark and his smiles seemed forced in the show.

Overall it is worth the hype I'd say. SOTUS is a fresh and unique story, even all these years later!

Leia Mais

This was the first Thai drama I ever watched, and I loved it! The first few episodes were a little hard to sit through, but what were so frustrating at first were the things that eventually made me love the show so much. I'm now a big Singto fan thanks to this show, and have since watched other shows with him in it. This drama...

Is character-driven: It's so character-driven that the first few episodes are full of small talk. While this may be boring at first, and doesn't always help with pacing, it helps create a background for these characters, helping to detail the close relationships that they form. Each character has a different personality, even the side characters, and I'm happy to say that as main characters both Kongpob and Arthit are way more complex than they needed to be.

Teaches good values: Friendship, respect, loyalty, giving people personal space, it's in this drama. It even shows multiple varieties of love and affection between characters (romantic, friendly, fraternal, &tc.) without passing any of it off as comedic (i.e., sappy moments between friends are depicted in a positive light). There are characters listening to each others' ideas and problems without passing judgment, and, with the case of Kongpob, the show delves into what it means to protest another person's orders while still being respectful of that person.

Has good music: If that opening theme doesn't get your heart racing and blood pumping, you might need to be resuscitated, and if that closing theme doesn't get you feeling groovy, then you need to have some soul. :)

Representation-wise, this drama did a fairly good job depicting its LGBT characters. None of the characters' identities are based on who or what they like, and they're all treated like multi-faceted individuals. In contrast with other BLs, Kongpob and Arthit's relationship isn't about an "aggressive" guy harassing a "passive" one, but is rather a relationship that evolves and changes, reflecting the various roles the two boys have in each other's lives. It's definitely a slow-burn, (mostly Arthit's fault- Kongpob is an angel), but it's beautiful watching the boys' relationship turn into what it becomes.

Leia Mais

Just one of the best Thai BL ever!

(English is not my first language)

I'll try to be the more objective as possible in this review. SOTUS has a very special place in my heart, being both my first Thai BL and Thai drama. It's also one of my favourite drama ever.

But this series has a lot of flaws. The beginning of the story is very slow and some episodes can even seem kind of boring. At the beginning of the series, the story really focus on the SOTUS system and the hazing and not really on the love story. But thanks to that we can know better the different characters and the bond between them. I indeed liked the fact that all characters are important and have their place in the story. AND the women in SOTUS were not just some crazy or evil girl. They were a part of the band too, thing I really appreciated. About how the theme of hazing is treated, I think it was okay. Kongpob is against the SOTUS system but not totally, he recognises the good sides. In an interview, the actor playing Wad said that before shooting the series he was totally against the system, but the show changed his mind a little. This show is not anti-SOTUS but not totally pro-SOTUS either. We can't forget that SOTUS is a real social issue in Thailand and even if it can have his good sides, a lot of people suffered or even died because of this.

What I love in SOTUS was the love story. It was very slow but at the same time very sweet. Some viewers said that they didn't understand how the characters fell in love. Maybe it's because their feeling grew very slowly. But the feelings are here, I can assure you. And of course, because they're both men, they have more difficulties to show they are in love. Look at Arthit, he struggles so much and he's still the one that make their relationship progress the most. They both are very courageous. The chemistry between the two main leads is so great, Krist and Singto being good friends in real life.

Finally, I want to talk quickly about the BL aspect and the homosexuality issue. I like how it was treated. This story is a story of love before being a "real" BL. We don't have much intimate moment (it's not TharnType, indeed) but when they were I found myself to be so happy. Some people criticised the fact that both of the main leads refused to recognise openly that they were gay. But sorry, they are gay or at least bisexual. If not it's impossible for two guys to be in love aha. BUT, I liked how the series show that romance is beyond gender. My favourite quote is "I don't like men, I like P'Arthit". This quote doesn't mean : "I'm not gay but I am gay just for P'Arthit". It's impossible. But according to me, the message behind this is that Kongpob is bisexual, he has an interest for woman but he still fell in love with a man and he doesn't want to be with anyone except P'Arthit. Just that. He loves P'Arthit, period.

Try this drama, it's worth it ;)

Leia Mais

A great series to watch especially for the BL. But the plot in the beginning few episodes were a bit off that made the story quite boring, it was just thanks to the KongOon encounters that kept it going.
The acting done by the leads and supporting characters are really very good considering it was the first for many and we have seen horrible examples of first (like the beginning episodes of Love Sick), in contrast this one was excellent.
The role of Aim was a bit off too but similar to what he did in the Waterrboyy Series.
And the chemistry between the two leads is also a bit blurred as it didn't quite feel like they have spent 2 years together, still so shy??? Seriously???

Leia Mais

Still Holds Up!

I rewatched SOTUS for the first time in like 6 years or something recently, and this show really holds up!

(Apologies if this review feels all over the place, I was sleep-deprived while writing it).

SOTUS is a bit of a slow burn, but it kept me engaged all the way through. The romance between Kongpob and Arthit was pretty effective, even though they were super slow to get together, but I think that helped make it all the more exciting when it finally happened. Their relationship seemed pretty healthy towards the end of the show as well when it was really starting to get serious, so that was nice.

I like that Kong and Arthit are the only gay couple in the show. It's common in a lot of BLs to have multiple side-story relationships, but I like that this one focuses on just the main. I also love that there is a femme lesbian character. She never actually has any on-screen gay moments with any girls, but she is known throughout the whole series to be a lesbian. I can't think of too many other BL series i've watched that included any other LGBT's outside of just the G's, so this was a nice, albeit tiny, shift from that. I honestly really liked all the side characters, I don't think there was a single one that I hated.

I saw a lot of people in different comment sections saying that they didn't like the hazing and that it was a big problem for them while watching SOTUS. While I sort of agree (obviously this kind of hazing is bad and in the show it was getting out of hand at points), I do think that it ended up being fine, all the juniors seemed relatively unaffected when the hazing period was finally over, and they seemed to have found some community in it. That being said, I also don't think the show was trying to portray hazing in a super positive light or anything, but I definitely see where people are coming from.

Overall I wish I could say more about this show. It's a classic for a reason, and I definitely see how SOTUS really paved the way for future Thai BL's. I will say that it feels pretty tame, and other BL series' that came after this have certainly taken things to higher heights, but I think that SOTUS was a good original ground to stand on.

9/10.

Leia Mais

I am so in love with this series. The first time I watched it I thought it was cringey but as I was progressing in watching it, I came to fell for it deeply. Seriously, people need to watch this because it is so great and very well directed. Everything was on point and it was really fun even though the holding back was a bot visible.

The story is about the SOTUS system of the the engineering program in Thailand and it was well executed by the actors. The main point of the story was given emphasis and I applaud the cast and crew for that. As for the romance part of the story, it was well blended with the main point of the story. I loved how they did this. It is a masyerpiece indeed. The main couple and even the side couple and casts really did well in telling the story to the viewers.

The cast was visually perfect and I love their visuals. I’m not really bothered by the casting rather I am more in the acting, well the acting was indeed great and well executed. The actors and actresses really did well portraying their roles. Indeed, room for improvements is still their but nevertheless, they did well especially Singto who delivered Kongpob very well! I applaud hin for that. For Krist, I was a bit hesistant because I can see that he was holding back in the role but overall he also did well on his part.

My little concern is that I was a bit confused because of the couple position, I was confused and shocked on who was the seme and uke but their acting did the work and I finally came with terms of the situation I totally ship the decision for their position. 😹

This series is a masterpiece even though there are still room for improvements. I love this series and especiallg the couple.

Leia Mais

This was my first of many bl’s

I honestly just loved this show. it’s cute and light. it was the first bl i ever watched so who knows maybe i’m biased. since then i’ve watched countless bl’s and i can still say this one is one of my all time favourites. theres a season 2 sotus s which is really good as well.
i really like how it’s really funny too. so many characters and i love them all. they really make u feel for the characters. u get to see them grow as people. a definite watch.
how can u not like this show.
i just love the concept of the two male leads and how they get together it’s the cutest thing ever ans the development of their relationship is just the bestttttt.
i hold a special place in my heart for this show always.

Leia Mais

One of the best!

Sotus Series is undeniably one of the best BL drama I've ever watched. I love how the show focused not just on the romance part, but also the character development. I did not give a perfect rating on this drama simply because I wanted more kissing scenes. Lol. Bij, I'm thirsty.

The drama is great, it's just I wish they should've also at least gave the side couple to develop well. A few interesting characters/pair of couples are Prem and Wad. They had good chemistry but I was a bit sad when their story did not progress at all. I wished they've given more time for the side couples to develop, but I also understand why they just had to focus on the main leads. I am not complaining nor disappointed. Krist and Singto have one of the greatest chemistry ever. I love watching their interactions in and out of the drama.

Leia Mais

I’ve been an m/m fan fiction reader and writer for many years, twisting ‘straight’ characters to fall in love... Arthur and Merlin. Harry and Draco... and that has been amazing because it filled a gap in my shipper’s heart. I had NO idea that this whole BL genre existed as an actual thing. I’ve seen a few LGBT movies and enjoyed them but I wasn’t inspired to watch them again...but me watching those prompted Netflix to recommend SOTUS and that was the moment my life changed.

Actual boys falling in love with boys. What the hell was this heaven? OMG.

So SOTUS was my first BL adventure. It’s launched me into a whole new world and I’m working my way through other shows, mostly via YouTube (husband is not happy that I’m using his premium account and he keeps getting recced BL shows!) - but I’ve yet to find another series as good as SOTUS.

Now that I’ve seen a few other shows I can appreciate that this show doesn’t have a load of pointless side couples, just ones that add to the story. That said - Prem and Wad totally needed to get it on and I was surprised that never materialised in this show.

Kongpob and Arthit are just perfect together. Would I have liked more kissing - hell yes, I’m human, and that first kiss was one of the most awkward TV kisses I’ve ever seen but I still squealed when it happened because it was them. I adore them. I love how Arthit goes from fierce Hazer to putty in Kongpob’s hands. I love the UST between them and the banter. I just LOVE them.

The supporting cast, particularly M and all of Arthit’s friends were great. It was looking them up and following Prem to a new show that helped me discover 2Gether.

I’m more than a little in love with Krist Perawat Sangpotirat to the extent that I might have to stray from BL to follow him in his other work. Such a good actor and incredibly easy on the eye as well. I love him and Singto together - I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole watching them.

I’ll be surprised if I find another show to top this one.

Leia Mais