Might be better for viewers during a second watch

tl;dr: A simple story told in very subtle ways, with excellent acting and interesting camera work.

The first episodes make this series seem like a more depressing version of "BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita" but it is not -- the dynamics and the background stories are very much different.

It's a slow-burn romance and does have the often used tropes of non-communication, self-deprecation and mutual pining -- so if you're not a fan of these tropes, you might want to give this one a miss.

The narrative choice to tell only Shirasaki's point of view first and to show Hayami's story then only later, in episodes 7 and 8, is something we've seen in other J-BLs (Mr. Unlucky, Senpai This Can't Be Love or the newer Living with him come to mind). Usually, it works fine. In this case though, I think it was not a good choice.
When we meet Shirasaki first, he is at his lowest, full of self-deprecation -- he is not at all a reliable narrator. Hayami, on the other hand, is quite unreadable -- not because the actor is bad at his job but because this is part of the character (Hayami's friend tells him exactly that in episode 7). So, for the first six episodes, we only get one (skewed) side of the story.
Because of real life issues, I had to take a break in episode 8 -- and after that I restarted the whole series. With the knowledge of Hayami's backstory, I was able to see things differently -- and what seemed depressing and a bit flat the first time, was actually just very subtle acting by both main actors.

Regarding the acting, the main actors are, in my opinion, excellent. Minuscule movements and facial expressions show the inner life if a viewer cares to look closely. Quite a few scenes have been taken in one single shot -- which shows the how good the actors really are.

Speaking of shooting the drama: I was intrigued by some camera angles -- we look through windows and through cameras, sometimes we are in vey tight spaces, feelinga bit claustrophobic -- and then some sces are wide-angle shots, and everything is only seen from a distance. Use of hand-held cameras in some scenes show the instability of the actor's emotions. Even just finding out how these choices relate to the character's emotions would make a rewatch interesting.

While I don't like the opening song, I do love the background music -- the piece itself was lovely, melancholic but strangely uplifting at the same time. Silence also played a big part in enhancing the scenes.

Overall, I think this series is not one to watch and forget immediately, rather it is to be savoured, and deserves a close look at its details.

Leia Mais

What will you sacrifice to make your loved ones happy?

What might be important to know:
* This is not an action/crime series.
Yes, there are some action scenes. And yes, there is a crime ring, drug smuggling and a murder case. But it's not at the centre of the plot. The main characters are even only marginally involved -- but the crime sub plot majorly influences certain reactions and decisions.
* This is not (only) a fluffy rom-com.
Actually, after the meet-cute and the scenes when Min folows Q in episode 1 and the preview for epiosde 2, I was convinced that this would be a shallow rom-com full of tropes and over-the-top Thai humour.
It IS very fluffy at times, very cute, with two soft boys who fall deeply in love with each other. But it is not only that.

In its core, the drama explores a much deeper question: How much will you sacrifice for the people you love?
Will you sacrifice your money, your health, your prospects in life? Your life itself? Will you do things you would never do otherwise? Will you sacrifice your own happiness?
And are these sacrifices you make -- are they the right choices? Will they make the other person happy?

I love how these questions are slowly asked and how they are answered differently over the course of the series. Both Min and Q search for the right way to achieve happiness for their loved ones -- with twists and turns, with laughter and tears. As the audience, we get to slowly learn about their lives and history, what made them who they are now and how traumatic events in their lives have shaped their views.

The script is well-written in that regard, there are no dragging parts, and the events of the present and the past are told in a way that they make a cohesive hole.

There are several inconsistencies, both in the writing and the executio. Just to mention some of the most obvious: the scene in front of Q's house in episode 7 would have had more impact if the actors hadn't swapped places for the close-ups, which brought me out of the immersion into an extremely emotional scene. I don't understand why Min's bedroom was restored to its original state after Min had taken care to rearrange everything in episode 2. Also, Min was shown as speaking English very badly (ep. 1), but later, he has no problems with instructing tourists at the surfing school.
One major flaw in the writing is the character of "James". I think he should have been two characters -- because he both has connections to the criminal underground (which are never explained nor explored, and Yada or indeed anyone else doesn't even really seem to know or notice him) and he is this good friend and mentor for Min with connections in the film industry, who is supposed to be extremely likeable and trustworthy? It would not have been hard to write a second character for the criminal connected side (another stuntman, maybe?), and keep James for the rest.
Mhen was unfortunately a bit bland as a character, he was never able to become more than "little brother who is ill and loves his older brother very much" -- and though Ohm Thipakorn obviously tried his best, he was not able to give his character much more colour. (Also, how does he get a heart transplant that quickly?)
Throughout the series, it's never clear how much time has passed, so that some scenes seem to happen very fast after another, when it's probably not the case -- a flaw a lot of Thai BLs seem to share.

But I can overlook these flaws because of the story-telling, the main theme of the drama, the solid technical execution -- and the acting. Both Ohm Pawat and Leng Thanaphon are very convincing in their roles. They were able to make me feel with their characters, to be immersed in their story and to believe their emotions.
Leng surprised me, because I was a bit sceptical if a rookie would be able to portray a character that is at odds with himself and with the world -- and indeed, especially in the beginning, when Q is trying to show one kind of emotions to the outside, while he has opposite emotions on the inside, Leng reaches his limits fast. In his defense, these scenes would have been a challenge for more experienced actors, too.

Overall, I find, again, that it's best to follow a drama's story without preconceptions about what it "should" be, but instead listen to what the writer, the director and the actors are showing us -- and here, they showed us a story about how traumatic experiences can shape your world. They showed us a story about about devotion, about love between parent and child, between brothers, between lovers and what it means to make another person truly happy.

Edit:
STOP!
Before you downvote this review, would you be so kind and leave a short note with your reason? I did my best to write a good review -- and I'd like to know how to improve. Thank you!

Leia Mais