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Something fresh in the world of BL, but not a complete masterpiece imo
This one really took me by surprise by how much I for the most part enjoyed it- especially considering I was pretty uninterested in the premise when I watched the original trailer. (The whole Torfun/heart transplant storyline is too unreal, cliché melodrama for my usual taste in storylines. I still don't really care for it tbh. But I see how it was required as the vehicle to deliver the rich, metro Tian to that rural environment so that his character development could take place).I had planned to give this one a pass until I saw all the hype the series was getting. By the time Ep.8 came out I ended up binge watching all the available eps in one go. My favourite scenes were all the fun, flirty moments between Chief and Tian that made me laugh. I thought they had lovely chemistry with both the physical and personality traits of both characters playing off each other really well. I was soooo impressed by Mix's acting, he was delightful. And surprisingly I was impressed by Earth too. I've watched the majority of Earth's dramas and have been pretty unimpressed with his acting for the most part (finding him pretty flat/bland in general). But I really think taking him out of the teenager/college student role for once and casting him as a more believable character for his age and appearance really did him wonders. I thought he was a perfect fit for the chief as he was believable in portraying the strength and independence of the character as well conveying the more vulnerable, insecure moments- often just with his eyes.
I think the best part of this series is the fact that it lets BL characters free of the college campus/high school cage, allowing for a more refreshing storyline. Seriously if anything, I hope the popularity of this series pushes more BL series out of that box into seeing that yes we can have fully fledged, interesting stories with BL romance that aren't focused around teenagers. I want to see more series like this, Lovely Writer and Manner of Death where BL stories get to branch out a bit more plot-wise. I found the rural setting pretty, interesting and refreshing. It was also nice to learn more about traditional Thai culture as well as see the commentary being made on class/wealth differences etc.
Now onto some aspects I didn't love. I really enjoyed probably the first 3/4 of the series before I started to get a little bored tbh. I stopped enjoying the storyline as much when the whole "Tian is revealed as having Torfun's heart but lets not reveal the whole story to drag out some miscommunication angst" arc played out. From then on the story got a bit more shakey imo and I thought it could've been handled better (especially ep 10. which I found a real drag to get through if I'm honest).
The thing I ended up absolutely hating the most was how every character takes away Tian's agency by force- yes even Chief. Even though they sell it as being out of love and I see why they did it- I still dislike how they went about it. I hate how his mother forces him to study education in the US and acts like allowing him to study teaching at all is such a divine gift.
I hate how Chief forcibly removes him from the teaching position and tells him he HAS to leave the village even though that is where he wants to be. I understand that the whole point of forcing him to the US for two years was to "prove" that his character truly wanted to live in the village for his own happiness rather than to pay it forward for Torfun... But the fact that everyone forces him to do that when he clearly of his own volition had already decided in his heart that that's where he wanted to be pisses me off. It made that whole last ep just feel like filler to me as you were just wading through the bs waiting for Tian to get back to where he already wanted to be. I just wish they gave Tian's character more respect to decide for himself what was best for him rather than forcing a mandatory time skip for melodrama's sake (I understand this is an adaptation of a novel though- so I'm assuming this is how the story was originally written).
I also kind of wish there was more of a payoff in terms of scenes with Chief and Tian living "happily ever after". Or even showing them a couple of months in the future and how their lives adapted to each other- rather than just the last scene of them flirting on the same crappy single bed in Chief's shitty room lmao. I didn't find the one real kiss scene to be much of a payoff tbh. It was a romantic moment on the top of a mountain I get it, but meh tbh. We waited through 10 episodes of longing glances and endless flirting for one short kiss lol.
Overall I did enjoy this series for the most part, but it was dragging for me by the end. For the first 3/4's I had been ready to add it to my "best of BL" list- but the ending episodes were a little disappointing for me so I lowered my ranking a little. I would recommend this one as one of the more heartfelt, romantic BL dramas out there- but I don't think I'd re-watch it tbh.
TLDR: If you loved I Told Sunset About You- you'll likely LOVE this. But if like me, you were a little less rose-tinted glasses with that one- you might not 100% drink the 10/10 cool-aid with 1000 stars either. Although I would say 1000 stars was a LOT more enjoyable than ITSAY was for me and I'd personally recommend 1000 stars a lot more.
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A Tale of Green Privilege.
I am salty, not gonna lie. I was totally in love with the show for the first seven episodes, but the last three were simply a writing joke and left a bad taste in my mouth. For me, the writers completely failed to deal with and give a proper closure to a topic they decided to showcase.Starting from the positives, I have to talk about acting. I usually keep my standards rather mid range with Thai BLs - here they exceeded my expectations. The performances weren’t Oscar worthy, but damn they were good. I see a trend in Thai BLs with casting new yet extremely talented actors for the main roles - Zee, Win and now Mix. Some actors did a better job than the others, but overall everyone portrayed their characters well.
The production value and the attention to creating realistic settings was quite nice. The village seems like a real close community - the interactions and relationships felt genuine. Loved the kids and how each one of them had their own individual characteristics, and they were not just “a group of kids”.
The slow progression of Tian and Chief’s relationship (excluding episodes 8-9). They were adorable. Well paced and natural way of presenting two people falling in love. Ain’t no “love from the first sight” or “forcing your presence on the other person until they give in” (which is done in many shows both in the physical and emotional aspects). Just two people working around their insecurities while the attachment and emotions grow.
“Your feelings come from your freaking brain” aka clear message that Tian is just Tian, and his character development and feelings come from him and not the heart he received from Torfun. All the similarities in his behavior towards other people did not come from the heart - it was Tian acting on what he read in the diary. I truly appreciate that they clearly expressed that Tian is his own person.
Onto the bad aka everything that happened after episode 7: complete lack of consequences (both legal and social) for people who broke the law. In real life, Tian would be hated by society - a rich kid who got away with breaking the law (organizing an illegal car chase in which someone died, and with how it was presented, it was not the first illegal car race he organized and took part in) thanks to the parents' money.
And I’m sorry, but feeling guilty is not enough of a punishment. We have legal systems for a reason. I’m all up for a redemption arc, but a character needs to pay for their crimes first. Same goes to his parents - all they did the whole show was bribing people for various reasons. The whole show could have happened only because Tian’s parents were able to buy his way out of trouble with money, and the true victims were simply forgotten. Torfun got no justice, nor did her family and friends. Everyone involved in her death got off scot free. That part of the plot and how writers dealt with it just simply angered me and ruined the show.
For everyone who claims that since Tian was not behind the wheel, he should not be held responsible for everything that happened to Torfun, remember that Tian was the one that suggested the car chase. Him and Tul organized the whole thing. When Tian started to feel unwell, Tul suggested forgetting the race, but Tian said no, because he did not want to look like a coward (to this random person he met in a bar and will probably never meet again - pride much?). He sent his friend to take part in the car chase on his behalf. He is not blameless.
And yet, he hasn't once been criticized or even scolded. Everyone just kept telling him how he was not at fault, how Torfun would forgive him, how he should stop feeling guilty, and my favorite and most disrespectful line of the whole show “Maybe, Torfun was the one who chose to give the heart to you” - it came from the person who was close to Torfun, someone who in first episode said “Everything can be settled with money. Easy, isn't it? I will never forgive the person who did this to her” - newsflash Chie’s, Tian was one of the people who did this to her, and his parents were the ones that used the money to make it go away.
Then there is the whole aspect of Tian wanting the freedom of choice, when everyone around him made the decision for him. This could have been a really good arc if they actually showed Tian being capable of making these decisions. Up till the end of the show, while his intentions might have been good, they often led to putting others in danger (sometimes almost dying). Tian is not exactly a responsible human being. How many times his actions need to have negative consequences until he starts to release, maybe double or even triple checking his ideas would be a good way to go?
All the problems I have, were the result of episodes 8 and 9 happening. It turned from a really wholesome story of self-discovery, development and improvement, to overdramatized mess with no cohesiveness. I loved and adored Tian in the first seven episodes, to be left with no sympathy by the end. I just could not stop feeling bad for Torfun and how poorly her character was treated in the show - all as a way to make Tian look better.
The last episode was quite enjoyable. Full of clichés, but since the cast have good chemistry, it did not bother me that much. The MVP was Tian's mom at the airport. Her reactions were comedy goals.
Overall, I have no idea. I am extremely conflicted - it’s not like the whole show was bad, good or decent. There were things I loved with all my heart (Tian’s and Longtae’s friendship being truly the best part of the show), but some were laughably bad (I did laugh throughout episode 8-10). I guess this show just made me feel frustrated on a whole new level just because of the two episodes close to the ending.
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*unpopular opinion* meh
I was hesitant to bother writing a review as everyone else seems to think this show is the best thing ever and people in the comments are supporting bumping 10/10 reviews in order to hide the bad ones but then I decided it couldn't hurt to just write one anyway.Don't get me wrong, the show wasn't really bad, I didn't hate it, I just don't think it's worth all this hype. I really enjoyed maybe the first 5 episodes but after that the storyline wasn't keeping me hooked anymore and the longing gazes and smiles got a bit annoying because they'd been obviously in love with each other since the first moment they laid eyes on each other and neither of them were doing anything about it. Don't even get me started on the new unnecessary drama that happened basically every episode after no.5
Someone pointed out in the comments that none of the rich characters *cough* Tian's dad, seemed to face any repercussions for their actions, and I agree that a lot of important things seemed to just get overlooked in the end in favour of rushing the couple together in the last five minutes
I appreciate the effort and creativity the production team put into the series but it's a shame the actual episodes didn't reflect it all I don't think.
The cast was good but (Sorry Earth) after a couple of episodes Phupha's sighing every 5 seconds started to grate me a little bit.
I can understand why people enjoyed it but unfortunately it wasn't my cup of tea and I just wanted to share my opinion so there's more of a mixed bag of reviews. It's ok if you didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else in the comments seems to have done :)
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Let's start at the very beginning
This show is basically about counting a thousand stars in the night sky (not really but yes) and by the end of it I felt like I wasted my time. The music is wonderful. The male leads, Nammon and the children have acted really well. Drake and White are completely wasted in this series. Pure self -indulgence on the director and storyteller's parts. Am sure this show will find it's fans but did not work for me at all. Had so much material to make it really work! Ah well. Maybe another director can revisit the premise in the future. Earth deserves a powerful starring vehicle pronto.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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First Episode
It was refreshing to see a new angle in the boys love drama world. The first episode is well set giving time to the viewers to know the characters. The setting goes with a smooth flow. The main leads acting are awesome along with portrayal i loved the fact that they gave time for the story to build up instead of rushing into it. Building up the romance little by little. Simple thoughts and the first meeting of the main leads fits perfectly like a star crossed lovers who were never meant to meet but god pulled a trick on them and wallah they are here.And not to forget the music and background score is a cherry on the top..Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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This is currently my favorite bl
Disclaimer: (this is not a professional review and i haven't read the novel so some parts might not be the same as it is in the series)Truly, 1000 stars is such an amazing series, the story itself is amazing i can't praise the writers enough, not to mention the hardwork put into it by the cast and crew. I've seen Earth play in a few series as side characters and honestly he was just that, i'm really glad this series gave him a chance to really be imeresed with the character and make him shine as an actor, because i believe he's just meant to be phupha. I'm so grateful that mix also agreed on casting as tian because i couldn't see it any other way, he's so talented i can't believe it's his first series. Both earth and mix did so well often times i forget that they're playing a character, their acting was not overdramatic but they both imprinted so much emotion on me, wether by their actions or facial expressions and i really admire that.
Can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since the finale, i will definitely rewatch this with my friends after this pandemic is over, it's so worth to rewatch because of how much detail is in this series, it's amazing. The ost of this series is also so amazing, with 3 versions of it i can't get enough of it! Oh and perhaps this is a bit of a popular opinion but my favorite episode from the series is episode 10 although it's not all about the kiss scenes, i really loved how impactful mix's acting was in part 1, i was crying so much i think i could have filled a medium sized water bottle with my tears. (sorry ik i'm dramatic) it's just so heartbreaking to see tian having to be apart from the thing he loved doing and also the person he'd fallen for, and phuphatian's love story isn't as cheesy as most which i appreciate, they faced a lot of hardships but they did still have a happy ending.
Ok i'm now just rambling and if anybody is (still) reading this review thank you sm- but i did have an idea for the ending of thus series with the airport scene and now hear me out i love the ending but i think the aiport scene could have been an amazing open ended finale. Where they know that they both still love each other but they have to part ways for an indefinite ammount of time, sure people can interpert it as a sad ending but it doesn't close the possibility of tian coming back and for the both of them to reconcile. In my opinion it'd be a great ending to a start of the sequel- ok i have my hopes up too high don't i but that's my thought on another possibility of the ending. But if we didn't get that scene on the cliff we wouldn't get the kiss scene and tian burying Torfun's book, it's one of my favorite scene in the whole series, why? It was the start of phuphatian, you might be thinking, but tian has been in the village for 9 episode what do you mean it's jusy started? Well initially tian went to pha pun dao to grant torfun's wishes but since he burried torfun's book his mission has officially come to and end (what a long time to settle things out and have closure am i right :")) and he's there for himself, doing what his heart desires, living the life that he wants. Oh geez i wrote so much in 15 minutes, well for me it is a lot cus i don't usually write, but i decided to write- well type this out because why not? Might not be the best review but again it's more of my thoughts and ideas haha. To wrap up what i said it's really an amazing series and i highly recommend people to watch this masterpiece.
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Beautiful. That's it.
This is not a BL. It's a drama that includes a M/M romance, but the story is so much more than that.Tian's journey of devoting his life to something bigger than himself after a near-death experience is the heart of this story. It's about love in every possible form, one of which happens to be a two-person romance. But it's Tian's love for teaching children. It's the love of friendship. It's the love of people and life and the little things.
The directing of this show was gorgeous. You can so clearly tell so much effort and devotion went into the production of this show, and that's proved by watching/reading about the behind the scenes. I mean, the crew built an entire village after the real one they were going to shoot at didn't work out. I heard how freezing it was, and that doesn't show at all in the scenes. I commend everyone involved. This show was clearly made with so much heart and love, which shows in the storytelling and the acting.
I'm so impressed with Mix's acting, as this was his first ever show, and he carried all of it. Everything was centered on his character, and he more than pulled through. Also, I think he's so youthfully beautiful. During the kite scene when he was smiling in the rain ... phew. Beautiful.
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One of the best BL
Most series don't share the big problems in people's life. They just focus on small problems and show them as huge ones.I almost missed this series because I knew that it wasn't a cute rom-com BL like most are but a serious one. But this is so much more. I saw so many recommendations for this series and knew I will have to watch it for sure, sooner or later.
The story overall was pretty good, displayed in a beautiful way because of the hard work of the whole team. However the extra ahead / before scenes at the end of episodes added a small confusion. Also even when the leads had a simple and happy ending, I think it would have been better to have a bit more zing in the ending to make it a bit better.
Another thing that made me almost drop this series twice in the first episode itself was the lead seeing the dead girl multiple times.
I think the series would have been way better if there was more chemistry between the leads.
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Beautiful!!!
I've seen multiple BL's recently and this one has taken a special place in my heart. Reasons why I love this show so much:1. It's not your usual university/school story line
2. It's a story about self-growth and this drama shows us how much the main character 'Tian' grows throughout the whole story.
3. Does not contain non-consentual scenes (has mutual respect and it's frankly adorable)
4. Shows that a BL drama doesn't have to have sexual scenes in order to make a beautiful story.
5. No jealous ex, crazy fangirls or homophobia.
6. The acting was really good with both the characters (even though it's Mix's first time acting).
7. The whole story doesn't just revolve around romance. It's about self-growth, forgiveness and a learning journey.
To me this show was PERFECT! And I would definitely rewatch it again.
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One of GMMTV's finest works. Sweet and Refreshing.
I was hesitant to watch this. I couldn't go through the first episode. A BL with a newbie lead and Earth? I'll be honest, I didn't like Earth at all. I hated his emotionless acting in Waterboyy (his character arc was also pretty bad) so it was an immediate turn-off.But the pain of waiting for Bad Buddy was too much. So, I finally decided to give it a shot.
And boy, oh boy, was I impressed.
The story is nothing like you've seen in a BL series. Hell, even in mainstream Thai lakorns. It's unique, sweet and charming. The story deals with destiny and how the fates of 3 people could be connected so deeply. I will not spoil anything about the story but you have to take my word for it. It's amazing.
I was ready to be disappointed with Earth once again. But he has improved SO MUCH! It's like I'm watching a completely different actor. If he can improve this much in such a short while, I'm actually excited for his future works. He was almost as good as Mix.
Almost.
Remember the newbie I talked about? The man acts better than most GMMTV actors. He's too good. You'll have to experience it yourself to believe it. That's it. That's all I'll say about him.
The OST is amazing. I've been listening to the main theme music along with its flute rendition for hours now. It has that 'pure' feeling to it that sets the theme for the entire show.
After all, only one word could describe the relationship between the male leads - pure. I hated dramas like TharnType which used fanservice to lure its audience. Glad we're back to the roots of the BL genre.
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Great development and a lot, a lot of drama
1000 Stars is one of the best series that GMM has produced and one of my personal favorites of all time, I think that what makes this series more special for me is the development of the main character, despite the fact that in one way or another one of the main threads of the series is romance, the series is much more than that.Let's talk about Tian, at the beginning of the series he is a spoiled child who does not see beyond his interests and personal satisfaction, but on the other hand Tian knows that he is sick that the time he has is short and in addition to that, the time he has It is to live a life that tastes unsatisfactory and transcendental so that he completely embraces his impulses, when an opportunity to live is given to him thanks to Torfun, he begins to live in a way in which he feels that he must pay her what what he did for him, but along the way he discovers who he is as a person and where he wants to take his life, and it is only until the end of the series when he finally begins to live for himself, now he has time to plan a life and do it on your own terms.
I must say that Tian is one of the best protagonists I have seen, from the beginning it is clear to you that he is a good boy who is more and more willing to get involved in community life and help other people, little by little We witness how he builds his own path and the relationship he has mainly with the children of the community seems to me simply magical, the development is so well thought out and achieved that you really connect with him, you care what happens to him and you feel his emotions with him, joy, sadness, pain... etc.
Let's talk now about the drama of the series, this series has a lot, a lot, too much DRAMA! Are you going to have that much drama? Almost every chapter from the middle of the series drops a bomb on you and don't get me wrong as I said that this series is one of my personal favorites, but seriously there came a time where I said ¡ Enough !, I think they overstepped a bit, the reality is that Tian's illness, Torfun's death and their relationship with the community was enough to create the atmosphere of guilt and pain and hope they were looking for, but not satisfied with that we had the “participation of Tian in the death of Torfun” well in some way that helped to reinforce the guilt that Tian felt and what prevented him from starting to live his own life, understandable; then “Phu gets a bullet”, and it was really not going to let him breathe easy or an episode ?; and finally "Tian discovers that Phu was taking care of him so much for his father" and there they did blow the wall for me.
As I said, none of these moments made me enjoy the series less, but it did seem to me that they pulled many strings at the end that were no longer so necessary, because with what they had raised at the beginning of the series it was enough to understand and develop the journey of Tian, but hey, it's going to be, writers like to see their characters suffer.
One of the things that I appreciate the most about the series, is all the treatment that the whole subject of Tian's heart transplant received, this topic is not new and many other entertainment media have addressed it and I must say that this series does it splendidly, when I started to watch the series I was worried that the engine of union between Tian and Phu was the heart of Torfun (at that time I believed that Phu had probably loved her), but no, the series does refer to some similarities between Tian and Torfun but we are never told verbatim that this is because they share a heart, remember that at the end of the day Tian has Torfun's diary and knows her through that, Phu falls in love with Tian for being Tian and Tian falls in love with Phu for the same reason, their love is born from coexistence, from the journey of maturity and acceptance that in the end they both have. Tian wants to pay Torfun for his new life, not because he feels like "her" or something like that, it is simply because he does not feel worthy of living and his guilt eats away at him, until he learns to accept himself and finds value in living for him.
Finally let's talk about the relationship between Phu and Tian, as I said before, it does not seem to me that it is the most important thing that the series presents and that is why I love it, the development is natural and very beautiful, although when they meet a clear attraction is felt between them, I think this was rather done with the purpose of everything about the "heart of Torfun", the truth is that the development of their relationship is slow and we do not have textual evidence until almost the last chapters (we know that they like each other from chapters previous but it is until the end when they are both clearer with their intentions), I really like how Phu's friends notice and make fun of him when you are alone, is do everything very organic, in general Phu seems like a person to me very charming, it is true that she is not a very explored character and therefore does not have a great evolution within the plot, but her role in the series is to accompany Tian is his development and in that sense it seems to me that he does it very well, if I have or something to criticize about this relationship is what happens after Tian finds out that Phu and his father have something like a deal, the reason is that Phu's attitude changes very suddenly, I understand that it is because he wants him to return to his privileged life or whatever, but even so it seems strange to me, also in the scene when Tian goes to look for him in his depression (when they have a beard and surely he has not bathed in 3 days) he has Tian broken there practically telling him "just I need a word from you and I'll stay with you forever ”and he decides to reject it (wtf) and change his mind in the last episodes (Phu lost points with me there, but I still love you), but hey, let's continue, first his change of attitude, then He rejects him, he does not even say goodbye to him, he does not answer his letters, he does not speak to him at the wedding and only at the end, in the end when Tian is about to leave he decides to change his mind and even when the other returns from his studies he does not is convinced that life in the co munity is the best for him, only until Tian makes him understand that being there with everyone and especially with him is what makes him happy, only at that point Phu also begins to live without fear and prejudice and loves Tian freely, precious.
And that that final, almost "post-credits" was just what my heart needed, after so much damn drama, they being happy, having fun, without ties, finally they are just Phu and Tian.
I must say that the performances are very good, Earth is not the first time I see it, but I do think it is the first time that they let them loosen up a little more and it was very good, the children of the community are very good when they are Sad ones convey that feeling perfectly and as I said, the bond with Tian is very nice, and Mix ..., Mix was a true revelation, his sadness, happiness, even his infatuation are so well achieved that it is difficult to believe that this is his first role protagonist, I'm a fan of this guy not to mention that he's gorgeous (and that he looks like Jin from BTS <3).
The setting is also one of those things to highlight, since a series that did not use the university in the background was necessary and this allowed them to explore the beautiful Thai landscapes and their culture, which was in itself a success, the main song is very beautiful and its different versions are ideal for the various situations where it is used, ufff ... and the entire beginning of the final chapter, what a beautiful thing.
Anyway, a very good and beautiful series, which I highly recommend and which definitely left a hole in my life, now that it is finished.
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My first BL series ever
This was the show that introduced me to BL, and I kind of regret that I chose this one first because I feel like nothing will ever be as good. I've watched this series twice now. The first time I watched it, I loved everything about it, but I didn't know this site existed to talk about it or to read other people talking about it.Since that first time, I've watched a pretty big handful of other popular BLs, and this one is still my favorite, and is the only one to have gotten a 10/10 rating overall so far.
This series ended so perfectly, that I actually don't want there to be a second season. I'd love a special episode, but I'd be scared that a second season might change the magic this series brought into my life.
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