Earth
Forest of Shishigami
Lu Guo Wo Nian Shao Shi Guang De Lan Se
20 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
A Good Watch, but could have been so much better
I used to look forward to this series with a lot of anticipation...the amazing chemistry and connect between the main leads, good acting, good production values, and the realistic storyline, it had everything going for it...and it successfully created these hooks that made me wait with a lot of anticipation and concern for the the two young boys, Qi Lu and Qin Xiao, who were trying to keep their love alive despite powerful adversaries like that disgusting piece of shit, Qi Lu's Father, and one hurdle after another that came their way....the way they watched out for each other, often quietly, and at the cost of their own selves, the way they were ready to give up everything in their lives just so that the other could go ahead, was heart melting...in other words, I was very invested in the story and the characters.But with all those positives, one major problem with this show was how it just seemed to focus on the build-up, the challenges and one blow after the other for the leads, till the very last 10-15 minutes of the show...and then it seemed like an underwhelming and abrupt end....like we didn't really get a full closure...as a friend said, it was '12 episodes of pain and build-up, followed by some quick text explaining the next 7 years of their lives, and just 5 minutes of happiness'...leaves you feeling kinda betrayed.
It ended with Qu Li and Qin Xiao being reunited and leading a happy life, but it felt like a lot was left unsaid, particularly in terms of resolving a lot of angst and resentment that the show built for some of the characters like Qu Li's father...there were hardly any payback for that, or even a plausible explanation of how Qi Lu managed to really get past the clutches of his powerful and oppressive father so easily...if he could go on to study Film-making in the US right after he went to Russia, why couldn't he do so even earlier? Also, the storyline of the second couple kinda got diluted towards the end and their scenes started to feel gratuitous to an extent. Maybe they had to censor some scenes out when the series got held up for some months in between (the routine thing that happens to BLs from China I guess)? I would have wanted to rate this as a 'Great Watch', but due to these flaws I'm giving this a 'Good Watch' rating.
Anyway, at least it has a happy ending, and it was comforting to see them be a loving couple, doing everyday nice things that loving couples do ....the lines at the very end were beautiful, when they revealed that Qi Lu and Qin Xiao had wished the exact same thing for each other - 'In the future, you must do what you love'...
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Adorably cute
Can a boy and a ghost be lovers and be happy with it...HELL YEAH!! He's coming to Me makes you believe that, and more :DThis is an adorably cute tearjerker, and an extremely fulfilling series. A very special mention of Aof's screenplay and direction, which I believe, is the key ingredient that makes it so enjoyable. Also, fantastic acting by Ohm and Singto and such enchanting chemistry! I so want to see Ohm and Singto together again after this!!!
One of the other things that I really liked about this series are the meaningful side stories, unlike many other Thai BLs, where the side characters don't have any plausible stories and do little beyond supporting the leads. The script was well thought through and the idea is quite novel....they make you believe in this ghost-human romance, and how!!
Without giving out any tale-tell spoilers for those who may not have watched it so far (like me, I watched this after 5 years of its release) I would have loved it if the makers had left out that...err, shall we say, gratuitously happy part at the very end where they reunite, and instead dropped a hint of them possibly reuniting again in the future for a second season (okay, so yes, I so wanted a second season of this, which off course is not happening).....but then, I'm not complaining...I was very happy at the end. :D
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Beautiful and deep
If love, unblemished with ego, jealousy, and attachment, was to come alive as a person, they would be like Tofu I guess ....<3What an absolutely beautiful and deep series this is...while many other Thail BL series have hinged on magic realism, this seems to have taken it to another level altogether. 16 episodes with an average duration of 1.5 hours, that is a whole day/24 hours, and yet, I binge-watched it.
Should you watch it? The short answer is YES. It has avoided many usual tropes and pitfalls of Thai BLs. Hats off to the team that they stuck to their guts to keep the episodes at 1.5 hours length and refused to cut corners, which helped with a layered and nuanced portrayal of sensitive and difficult issues such as mental health, childhood trauma, toxic social-cultural traps that many parents forced their children through, and so on....
It also beautifully captures how we get caught up in our own lies, even with the best intentions, how jealousy, attachments and inner insecurities stop us from being our authentic selves and hurt everyone in the process.....and how love (Tofu personifies love to me in this series) is the only force that can ultimately brings us towards closure and peace, so that we can look towards the future with some hope and happiness.....
Off course I also have my axe to grind with the ending, not because how it ended, but more for the pace of it. It felt completely rushed at the end without giving the characters and viewers some time to grieve and adjust to Tofu's storyline, and also find some closure before being able to 'move on' and look to the future with hope....I just don't get why the team, after making such long episodes without cutting corners, had to rush through the ending...I'm wondering if they faced the same pressures as Nut's boss in the series, Juea.
It would have been much better to show a break in the storyline like '2 years later' or '3 years later' before showing how the characters moved on with their lives....that would have given Nut, Na and all others a reasonably acceptable time to grieve Tofu (yes, the Teddy's presence notwithstanding) ...without that closure curve, it seems like all the people who were so deeply touched by Tofu and his love, just quickly went past him and went on with their lives...which is plain disrespectful and insensitive to a character who was as important as Tofu.... and that is why it seems so painful and unacceptable for most of us, I believe...it would have been also good to spare 5-6 minutes for the Saen-Jan storyline to show what happened to them afterwards....If not for these gaps, this series would have figured in my list of Top 5 Thai BLs so far, but because of this issue it will only do so in the top 10.
Nevertheless, I maintain that this is an absolutely beautifully crafted series ...the only other Thai BL series that I think comes close to talking sensibly about such difficult issues is probably '180 degrees longitude passes through us', and 'Khun Chai', though both of them only scratched at the surface, while this series goes deep and is thus a cathartic experience. It somehow reminded me of the series '13 reasons why' which also dealt with difficult subjects of mental health, jealousy, suicide, guilt, trauma, power and the likes, though it was way more triggering and raw...
Kudos and a BIG THANK YOU to the entire cast, crew and team for making this series. Definitely recommended!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
180 Degrees Longitude Between Us
1 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Intense and breathtakingly beautiful
What do you do if fate takes you back to the path you were always running from?This intense, heartbreaking, and yet breathtakingly beautiful series, raises many difficult questions, and gives us hope that love ultimately finds us the courage to live as our authentic selves.
This is the story of Wang, his mother Sasiwimol and Wang's father's best friend Inthawut or In...as it opens, Sasiwimol comes across as a successful career woman and a darling mother who is trying her best to be there for her son Wang, who misses his dead father dearly...despite the fact that there were some unresolved challenges between her dead husband and her, apparently mostly owing to his alcoholism. By sheer coincidence Wang and Sasiwimol lands up at In's place in the middle of nowhere after having lost their way while trying to scope for locations of Sasiwimol's next Lakorn.....Sasiwimol is both surprised and delighted it seems to have finally found an old friend In, who suddenly went missing from her late husband's and her life...while Wang feels this intense desire to know someone that he knows was very close to his father, courtesy photos that he had of his late father and In.
As they spend time in In's stunning home, Wang starts to fall for In despite the age difference, part driven by his intense desire to know why In was so close to his father, and part because the sheer chemistry between them is undeniable....In tries to avoid it for obvious reasons, but the sexual tension between them is palpable as Wang tries everything to break through the walls that In has put all around him....Wang's efforts seem to work when Sasiwimol has to go out for 2 days leaving two of them at In's house, and In starts to open up to Wang ....but once Sasiwimol is back and Wang confesses his love for In, all hell break loose....the pent-up tensions and feigned camaraderie between In and Sasiwimol crumbles....as the trio struggle through their own and collective secrets and guilt, painful truth from the past starts resurfacing......the two adults want to recede back to their make-believe comfort zones, but Wang refuses....he bulldozes through the walls of secrets and raises difficult questions, so that everyone can face the long-repressed truth.....a truth that Sasiwimol wanted to deny at all costs, a truth that made In withdraw from the world and live in self-imposed seclusion, guilt and pain....but, a truth that Wang could see all too clearly!
The series beautifully and expertly explores difficult themes of homophobia, childhood trauma, grief, narcissism (to me Sasiwimol is a clear case of at least borderline narcissism), and how denial/repressing our truths lead us towards an endless pit of pain and loneliness. But even though the series is heartbreaking and triggering in many ways, it gives us hope that love ultimately finds us the courage to live as our authentic selves!
With stellar performances from all three leads, excellent storytelling, beautiful cinematography, and clever use of sets and props (walls, iron-grills, bridges, etc.) all through the episodes symbolising the nuances of the characters and their stories, this is one stunning series that you can not miss. I have been a fan of Pond ever since I watched this, and I bet that you will be one too, once you watch this. Would I watch it again? Absolutely YES, but it is very intense and can be quite triggering, so go prepared and fall in love!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Spectacular!
Wow! What a spectacular journey this was! If you have come here as a BL fan, let me tell you that this is in a different league altogether....nothing that I watched so far (and I have watched a lot, trust me), compares to the scale, depth and spectacle that The Untamed is....and be prepared that you will dearly miss it when you are done.....Make no mistake that this is a BL, albeit with no overt show of that relationship given the censorship challenges from the origin country. But I absolutely loved how the love and romance was portrayed nonetheless....the tenderness, the concern and the unwavering commitment that we get to experience between Wei Wuxian and Lang Wangji, is other worldly...Kudos to the actors that they could convey the deep love without needing a lot of obvious show of it...I love me a tale that leaves room for imagination, and this one, though not by choice, does just that in terms of the romance and boy, do i love it!!
But beyond just the romance, the series has so much more to offer....the rich storyline, including all the sub-plots that contribute to the central theme, the incredible plot-twists, the wonderful character development, the nuanced politics and power struggles, the beautiful locales, the music, the cinematography, and above everything else, the epic cast that delivers spectacularly...it's a must watch.
At the end I miss them all...and particularly the beautiful and tender bond between Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan, and the adorable, cute, and loyal-to-a-fault Wen Ning...:(
When I finished this, I desperately searched for news/updates for another season or a proper spin-off... but as an afterthought, I realised that maybe its best this way...this bitter-sweet feeling of reminiscence and missing it dearly, is like a lovely ache that you come to cherish... it's so like the spirit of the series itself.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Promises to be a fantastic one!
Woot! What a deliciously intriguing first episode...also fantastic chemistry between the leads...I'm hooked...While I will update my ratings as I make progress with it, and post a proper review once I have completed it, this is an early blurb to let you know that if you have been sitting on the fence on whether or not to watch this, wait no more.....unless you want to binge-watch it once all of it is available.
The original story is by Sammon.....I have loved almost all of her stories that were made into dramas so far, which include Triage, 4 minutes, Manner of Death .....she is reported to be a doctor herself and that is probably the reason why all her stories have themes that include doctors, hospitals, autopsy, etc. The director is Wo Worawit Khuttiyayothin, whose other shows include Century of Love (mostly liked it), Laws of Attraction (loved it), and To Sir, With Love (Loved it a lot).
I am definitely rooting for this show. :D
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
