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I preferred them in Bad Buddy...
First of all, let me tell you how happy I am that GMMTV finally chose to do a GL. When the news first dropped, I was excited. When I heard that Milk and Love would be taking the main roles, I was over the moon. Sadly, though, the actual series has me a lot less thrilled than the idea did...I absolutely adored Milk and Love in Bad Buddy. Their chemistry was great, they were adorable, and their acting was nice too. However, I cannot get myself to feel the same way about them in this show, sadly. I think these two excel at portraying a crush, but not an actual relationship, if that makes sense. Their chemistry is perfectly fine when all they have to do is give each other sweet looks and subtle touches. However, when it comes to actual physical chemistry beyond that, everything somehow evaporates, and not much is left. Their kiss scenes felt incredibly forced to me, like they got dared to kiss during a game of truth or dare or something. The scene where Sun's towel fell down and Ongsa started screaming made me want to crawl out of my skin because it felt so awkward and uncomfortable. Honestly, Ongsa kind of reads as asexual to me, which would've been nice representation. Like she is in love with Sun and wants to be with her, but has no interest in anything physical. And even if they didn't go for that idea, they could've just not included any kiss scenes either way since it's a high school romance, and those don't really need kiss scenes in my opinion. I much prefer no kiss scenes to these awkward moments that end up ruining the chemistry for me.
Because of that, I will always choose to rewatch Bad Buddy if I need my fix of MilkLove, instead of this heap of awkwardness.
But my biggest gripe with this show is how boring and dragged out it feels. It has almost no plot, which I don't generally mind if there's great characters and great chemistry. My School President didn't exactly have the most exhilarating plot either, but it still ended up as one of my favorite shows because of the amazing chemistry and the lovable characters. But this show didn't have much of either (at least not in my opinion). The nonexistent plot really made it a slog to get through, and I found myself fast-forwarding quite a lot after the first half of the show. The only thing it had going for it was the catfish storyline. But that was resolved in a very unsatisfying way (Sun was mad for 0.2 seconds, which was not enough at all) and then, everything kind of faded into nothingness. They started inserting drama for drama's sake in the later episodes - like the studying abroad and the outing thing. But the conflicts felt so shoehorned in and unnatural that it wasn't exciting to watch, it just made me roll my eyes. Let me say it again... Don't write conflict if you aren't going to resolve it in a meaningful way.
So, this just ends up being yet another one of those GMMTV shows that should've been 6 solid episodes instead of 12 that feel bloated with nonsense and side characters that get only a few scenes, which is not enough to flesh them out at all, so their storylines feel unsatisfying. Alpha, for example, was a really compelling character that never got quite enough screen time to really do the idea of her justice.
As far as the main characters go, I think Ongsa is developed decently well (at least for GMMTV standard). Sun on the other hand is lacking the screen time it would take to actually flesh her out beyond being sweet, trusting and kind. I would say her character gets ruined in episode 10, when she outs not only Ongsa but also Aylin and Luna in front of Ongsa's family, but there isn't much of a character there to begin with, so it can't really be ruined. But either way, that scene made me absolutely despise her. You don't out anyone ever, there's no room for discussion there. But especially not when it was super obvious how uncomfortable Ongsa was with the situation, even trying to deny the whole thing.
I want to praise GMM for having made the decision to replace North and Night with an actual GL pairing as the side couple. Obviously, I would've loved to see Gemini and Fourth in this, but I much prefer it to actually give those roles to girls instead. Give the girlies their time to shine when we have so many BLs already. Luna's and Aylin's storyline is much more interesting than the main romance. However, I couldn't help but scream "THIS GIRL NEEDS THERAPY!" at my computer whenever Aylin was on screen. Clearly, she has severe mental health struggles that are very reminiscent of autism-spectrum disorders or perhaps even schizophrenia with her conviction of being an alien. At best it's a really unhealthy coping mechanism, but either way, her family not actually getting her any help hurts my heart. She really needs a professional at her side, and I really really hope that this will still happen in the two remaining episodes. But knowing GMM shows, I doubt it.
The humour of this series did not land with me at all. It reminded me a lot of Japanese shows - very over the top, outright cringe in many instances, and clashing with the heavy moments of the show. This is just down to personal preference though, so while I don't vibe with that kind of thing, other people might.
All in all, this was a big disappointment for me. I think other people might really enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. I'm very happy to see GMMTV actually trying their hand at GL, which is why I'm actually glad that other people seem to really enjoy this. Because the more support this show gets, the more likely it is that we will get more GLs in the future - which we desperately need! So I would honestly suggest you give this a try, even if it hasn't been an enjoyable experience for me. Hopefully in the future, we'll see GLs with better plot lines and chemistry. Until then, I will just rewatch Bad Buddy again whenever I'm in need of a cute GL couple.
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Literally the cutest show everA milklove show is something people have been waiting forever and we finally got it.
Such a warm show with even more cute characters. Ongsa is such a cute loser, I can’t help but laugh (and slightly cringe) when she does embarrassing things. Sun stays true to her name, being the positive light throughout. Aylin, Luna, Alpha, the teachers and friends, honestly such a loveable group of characters. And don’t get me started on how cute Aylin and luna were. How their relationship started and progressed were beautiful. All the actors were great too, an ensemble cast actually.
The sets were great too. The attention to detail is amazing, Ongsa’s room filled with space stuff, her phone case, Sun’s handkerchief and her bike, Aylin’s room and caps etc. All the aesthetics were great too.
Many people complain that the focus was too much on other characters, I would not say the issue was the focus on the other characters but the fact that the series was too short for 3 couples + 1 side character story and 2 conflicts for the main couple. They could have made the series a bit longer. 23.5 being the first gmmtv gl has to open new doors for other wlw couples and they did it for viewjune. Many people have started to pay attention to view-june as a pair and have started to ask for a show for them, even view has gotten attention individually. They have also given a space for godji and golf to be another couple. All of them deserved their own space. The show needed more time
They could not develop the characters much, especially Sun, we kind of know her character but not that deeply. After the earth conflict was solved, there wasn’t much to do about ongsa-sun and the last fight did not do anything. They just created a conflict for the sake of it. It could have worked if they addressed the issue of Sun outing multiple people and not seeing this out of perspective but they turn it make it seem like Ongsa is the one wrong here without addressing their lack of communication. Luna and Aylin’s relationship also seemed to have issues but they didn’t show it properly. Even the scene where Aylin opens up about bullying, they inserted Mawin, they could have made him relate to her or something.
Another issue I have is that they didn’t try much to make them ‘real’. Where are their parents most of the time? They are high school students but we didn’t see them studying or having classes much, especially after they started dating. What is their school routine? Alpha and Luna were in the school head club but never seemed to be helping the other students or interacting with them. Even the astrology club was left to dust. They could have included them in their dating era too. The teachers weren’t even seen teaching. Sun wasn’t seen with her friends after they started dating etc etc
Their past was also confusing, how does ongsa already have friends if she just moved there, did she move there alone or was alpha already studying in that school? What about aylin’s parents? Her past? Why is onsga so distant with her parents? Many were not clear
Anyways this was a very cute show. Milklove were great and made me happy. I hope they get more projects together. Hoping for a viewjune gl next year! Ongsa-sun and Aylin-luna will be always in my heart
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It took GMMTV long enough
Forever grateful for GMM tv to FINALLY give us a GL!!!! MilkLove are finally able to shine and girl we’ve been waiting for this since Bad Buddy*insert ugh emoji*.Super stoked that ViewJune also took the place of GeminiFourth(much love for them) because this is how we have a first healthy authentic GL!
The show is hilarious and fun and not cringy (thankfully). Between Milk doing such a good job at showcasing the feelings of a love stricken teenage girl and Aylin (views character and my personal fave) I cannot get enough.
After completing the show:
I did not like in the show how Sun outed three people and it was never actually addressed. As someone who is a part of the queer community, this is not something taken lightly no matter the context of the situation or if it was an accident. There were some great dialogue and scenes in this show but why exactly was this not addressed? GMMTV has been doing pretty great recently with important storylines and dialogue but this is their first GL and it already felt like a set back.
I hoped there would’ve been more scenes with them all just having fun and more scenes with Luna and Aylin. Let’s be honest if Gemini and Fourth were still casted, they would’ve had more scenes than what we got of Luna and Aylin.
ANYWAYS, don’t take the reviews to heart because the show was still cute and fun.
I hope GMMTV can see all the potential for other GL shows that they could produce that 23.5 has showcased.
Hopefully this is the start of a beautiful era of more GLs to come and finally giving Lesbians the same representation and love as they do for BLs.
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a story that will definitely comfort and heal your inner child
23.5 is not a 100% perfect series, the production had a few lapses here and there but i can assure you that if you're looking for a series with superb acting skills and relatable characters, this is for you. The series has its certain warmth (like a blanket comforting you during a cold day) that will surely touch your heart and somewhat heal your inner child deep down. It will bring you to a journey and the struggles of a 16-year old teen and how she navigates life, conquer her insecurities, and many more. Lastly, this series will teach you the value of friendship (no one gets left behind), and will show you different faces of love.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
A shaky, TERRIBLE start to GMM GLs
The more I think about 23.5, the more I think about it's wasted potential. This could have been an amazing first series that would skyrocket GL to as much popularity as BL, but that won't be the case, at least with this one.I came for MilkLove and will stay only because of them. My overall issues:
-> The fact Ongsa and Sun could not have LESS valid reasons to like each other than in this series! There is zero explanation or motive as to why either of them actually started liking each other.
-> Chemistry, who is she?! There is no chemistry between their characters. The awkwardness, the long moments of silence, the lack of any substance in their few brief conversations, the list goes on. I'm sad to see this considering they had FIRE chemistry in Bad Buddy.
-> Everything can be summed up with BORING. The reveal of Earth was supposed to be a big thing, like the main turning point of the plot. But everything was rushed, revealed, and solved in a single episode mid-series. Everything is a blur and felt like nothing ever happened.
-> Despite being set up as a main character, Sun was given a crumb of screen time. Even less than the side couple and side characters.
-> FLAT characters. Little to no character development, no pasts, no desires, and no passions. It feels like every character was written only as people who are supposed to be in love because they told us so.
I wouldn't recommend this series at all, but I have hope for the GL industry. Little effort was put into 23.5 overall, and it shows.
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Could Have Been Better But Was Lovable Enough
GMMTV is clearly winning all hearts with its variety in tv shows, series and LGBTQ representation. Adapted from the novel “23.5 When the Earth Is Spinning Around”, “23.5” is one of the shows that will win your hearts from the first episode, even though there is nothing new or refreshing, but its the characters that wins the people’s heart. But as much as I wish to say that the show kept up its good work up, it will be wrong to say so because the series went a bit downhill after Episode 4. Milk Pansa and Love Pattranite as Ongsa and Sun were very good individually but together they lacked the chemistry and passion that two people in love have. Individually, they really shine in their respective characters but when you are playing the lead role in a romantic series, it’s important to show some passion in the romance scenes.Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/15/23-5-series-review-ep-3-to-12/
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23.5 "Even on the toughest day, something good can happen to you. It depends on how you look at it.
The first episode starts with this quote which gives the viewers a positive vibe. The first episode starts with a hope that gets destroyed with every next episodes. The main characters were supposed to be likeable but with their every actions they loose their original vibes that was shown in the first half of the drama.TALKING ABOUT THE PLOT AND MAIN LEADS..........
Well the plot isn't anything new at all, it was predictable, a cliche misunderstanding plot which is often disliked by many. The drama losses it's touch when Ongsa lied to Sun about her identity, she literally played with Sun's feelings using being introverted as an excuse. Then Ongsa didn't have the gut to confess her lies, and she would have continued to do so if Sun hadn't found out. Ongsa couldn't do anything for this relationship until the last episode. Also at one point Sun was wrong. If the main characters losses their vibes like this, it becomes hard to continue watching the next episodes.
SECOND LEADS AND SUPPORT CHARACTERS
I really didn't like how they showed us the story of second leads because it felt so out of the place and random. They just randomly showed us their their cute moments without much background or story, there were only random romantic moments. Alpha was the most matured and likeable character of this drama. Ciize was so different in this drama from her all previous roles. It was refreshing to see her as Alpha. Rather than Tinh and Mawin, Ton and Mawin had more chemistry together. Tinh, Mawin, Ton and Charoen, their stories as a couple didn't make much sense. As I feel they were paired wrongly. I liked Teacher Nida and Teacher Bambam's story more than others. As they were caring and honest about everything.
The last episode felt like a special episode rather than the last episode. I was expecting something different not the common plot with unlikeable elements. There weren't any memorable moments in this drama.
Overall, It was just okay nothing special. They could have shown us the Grade 11 Ongsa and Sun's story from episode 9 to 12, Ongsa being matured, brave, straightforward and not caring about others opinions. It would be something different and special.
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A sweet show that takes too long to get to
The first six episodes is an awful slog to get through and doubly so when watching from week to week. The writing treats the audience like people who have never seen a television show before and the misunderstanding goes on forever. 6 episodes, which exactly half a span of the show is way too long to get to the relationship and very unfortunately probably soured a lot of interests in it. I quit watching it as it aired as well and came back to complete much later. I did enjoy watching the characters once the relationship started proper. I love Sun so much, she's not relegated to passive love interest, but she's very in tune with her feelings, communicates everything to the people around her, asks for advice, and apologizes when needed. She's kind and her popularity makes sense. Ongsa is capable of being spicy when she's lost in her comfort zone with Sun, leaving behind her neurotic defeatist self, as is Aylin at the end. Oooh girl that kiss melted Luna completely. I really like how the show models patience and understanding for neurodivergent Aylin. Her room is pretty cool as well. Ton continuing to pursue Charoen despite her repeatedly saying she's not interested being played for laughs is not funny at all. I hoped this drama would be much better than it was, but alas it's not.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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It is a start!
This series was.. . somethingThe first episodes got me hooked like nothing else but pretty quickly you could see they were running out of ideas until most of the episodes had filler scenes and nothing else.
It was “nice” until episode 8 when they officially ended all they had to say (don’t get me wrong I LOVED the romance between the teachers but we could have had them ending up together sooner instead of waiting episodes and episodes of nothing) after it was just, eh boring until it got BAD in episode 11
I will not talk about episode 11 because I’m pretty sure the fandom talked about it at length, i will just say that it was incredibly fucked up how they treated Ongsa and as a LGBT member myself NO ONE should be forced to come out.
Said this, I think this is still very much a good starter GL series for GMMTV
The quality is the same as a modern BL series (which is a lot considering how high GMMTv treats its BL series) and you could see a lot of thought was put behind this
The chemistry was amazing and the story at the beginning was very very good so i truly hope that the awful (and right) feedback they got for the last episodes doesn’t stop GMMTV but instead motivates it to do better
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A Very Sweet High School GL!
I swear, there was no one more excited for this show than I was! I have been on the MilkLove train since day one, and practically sobbed when this show was announced. And it took so long, but here it is!! And it was really good!While I'm not always a big fan of high school stories, I thought this one was well done and nice. It was sweet without feeling juvenile, and had a lot of fun and silly moments. The side ships (ESPECIALLY AylinLuna) were great, and I enjoyed watching Ongsa and Sun fall for each other.
Of all the actors, I was most impressed by View. She did such a good job with Aylin's character, and really stood out! I sincerely hope we see a lot more of her in lead roles in the future, because she really deserves it. But the rest of the cast was really great, as well! It was a larger cast than these shows tend to have, but every character felt distinct and had their own stuff going on without overwhelming the narrative.
While I have my complaints (largely about the entirety of the eleventh episode conflict), on the whole this was a great show! I can't wait to see what Pluto, Us, and all the future GMMTV GLs bring!
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Cute but lacks some things
I'm quite disappointed because I wanted to love more and to give it a higher rating.. However, it was because in terms of the story, it lacks some things that could captivated me. I think I know some messages that they wanted to send and that was really nice but unfortunately it was not enough.There's also some things or behaviors from certain characters that annoyed / frustrated me, it didn't help to fully enjoying the serie.
However, ok I admit, it was really cute and funny for some points, I did enjoy some moments, the actresses were doing great and the OST were also cute and catchy.
I only blame for the execution of the plot.. I think, I just hope to see MilkLove again with a better script / story with different characters and also, would be glad to watch another GL serie with ViewJune as the main couple.
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a sweet start turns into a snoozefest
i really had high hopes for this drama since this is gmmtv's first gl and MilkLove has been a very much anticipated couple. i loved their chemistry since bad buddy, so i never had a problem with the cast, chemistry of the couples or the acting. on the contrary, i think everyone did a great job portraying their characters. the characters were cute and sweet, i liked the friendship between them. both milklove and viewjune have amazing chemistries and look good together.HOWEVER, despite there was no issue with the characters or the acting, there were definitely some problems with the plot and storytelling. it started well and promising - the plot was quite interesting; a young, shy, introverted girl falls in love with the popular girl and due to her insecurities, she decides to contact her with a fake account, pretending to be a guy. when you hear the main story, it sounds like it will be filled with exciting events, mysteries and a rollercoaster of emotions. yet, when you continue watching, it becomes bland - nothing goes on. everything is so plain. it gets boring after some time and you start watching in 1.75x.
everything felt superficial in the show. it is not like a series but feels like those youtube mini dramas where the story wraps up in like 2 videos. there is no depth to anything. the characters, their families (where are the parents??), the storyline feel so empty. i really wanted to love this. and i still kept on watching despite not liking it that much, solely because i want the first gl to be well-received. i feel like gmmtv barely cared about this show and just wanted to test the waters to see how well it will do (to see if they should produce more gls or not), hence why they didnt want to invest much (and loreal being the only sponsor, come onnn like pls)
also, i could tolerate the blandness until the 10th ep. it was at least a cute high school romance. but, after the ep 9 (when ongsasun officially became a couple), the storyline just went downhill. why did sun out ongsa to her parents? and then she acted as the victim. i understand that she wanted to be acknowledged as the gf, but if your gf isnt ready, you shouldnt rush her. ongsa's parents were not homophobic, yes. but regardless, some people may not be ready to disclose themselves to their family. you don't know her parents exactly, you don't know if they really will accept their daughters' sexual orientation or not. so why out her like that? even if her parents were understanding, it is not somebody else's place to say it. and then, she gave ongsa the cold shoulder. girl you are the one at fault here... and that scholarship thing was unnecessary too. i think it should have been just 10 episodes.
aylinluna was a good couple but their story and romance felt too rushed and we barely knew anything about luna. aylin's story was fine. and what about mawin & tinh? mawin liked him and then?? it seemed he was trying to pursue tinh but then he suddenly stopped?? what was going on there
i think i was quite generous giving this 7... i want to encourage gmmtv to produce more gls with a BETTER production and plot please. i tried not to be as harsh as this is their first gl and some mistakes are bound to happen as it is just the first, but i cant help it. im criticising it in the hopes that upcoming gls will be much better. im looking out for more milklove content. i hope they will have another series which is much better than this one bc they dont lack anything. the chemistry and acting are there. they just need a good plot.
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