After only recently discovering the world of Thai BLs, it soon became apparent that Dark Blue Kiss is among the fan favorites. I figured I'd give it a try from the very beginning. So, I watched all of Kiss the Series before moving on to Kiss Me Again. About a third of the way through KMA, I decided to start Dark Blue Kiss. I ultimately ended up finishing DBK before KMA.

Right away I noticed that the production was the best out of the entire Kiss entire. I was very pleased that the BL drama in a franchise was treated with the most delicacy. The opening credits blew me away. The tension rises as the opening music's intensity swells. Visually, glass shatters and Kao cries. It was a perfect match to the perfect opening scene, showing a big blowout between the show's main couple.

Even though DBK is the 3rd installment in a series, it's very digestible for new audiences who have no knowledge of Kiss or Kiss Me Again. In fact, there's nearly no reason at all to watch the other two series, as Pete and Kao's story lacks any continuity whatsoever. Ex: The two had revealed their relationship to the entire gang at the end of Kiss but in DBK, it's a secret to everyone but Sandee, who knew everything that was going on in Kiss Me Again (set before the events of Kiss), despite being shocked when they told her in Kiss.

Not only are PeteKao's story retconned multiple times but so are their personalities. Kao, for the most part, kinda remains the same, though he was much more goofier in Kiss and he always wore glasses that were never seen in DBK or KMA. Pete, however, is an everchanging character. Seeing as I watched him first in Kiss as Sandee's sweet and supportive friend, I was SHOCKED to see him be such an asshole in Kiss Me Again. But, I understood that he was acting out because of his feelings for Kao. In DBK, he's just an asshole simply because.

And don't get me wrong, the retconning stuff isn't ideal but it's nothing too bad. I certainly think it benefits most of the watchers who aren't interested in watching Kiss or Kiss Me Again. But Kao being an asshole was one of the few issues that I had with DBK. I thought Pete was an awful boyfriend. He's extremely toxic in his possessive and accusatory ways and he makes no apologies for it. I hate that the story leaned more towards Kao's actions being the problem by lying to his unreasonable boyfriend. Kao's livelihood was at stake but Pete wanted him to drop a client because of his insecurities. Pete was truly insufferable and he was never truly called out for it. And judging by the YouTube comments, viewers were actually romanticizing his toxic behavior. *Sigh*

BUT, despite how much I disliked Pete as a character, the chemistry that Tay has with New is undeniable. I enjoyed the sweet, romantic moments between the two and I can see why DBK is among the highly recommended of Thai BLs. Fans also seem to really enjoy Sun/Mork as the show's side couple. Truth be told, I was only mildly interested. The chemistry was great but I felt like there was too much back-and-forth with the development in the beginning. There was no consistent dynamic to their interactions. Sometimes Mork would talk about Sun with great disdain and then they have a snarky but cordial moment that leads to Mork and Sun softening up around each other... and then enemies again in the next episode. By the time there was more to relationship, I found that I didn't care about the relationship as much as the show wanted me to. Rain/Manow was background noise (which is unfortunate because Rain was one of my favorite characters in DBK).

Another minor issue I had was that I felt that there was too much emphasis put on Non's strict, tough-love upbringing with his overbearing father for there to be no satisfying conclusion to that story. Honestly, the writers really dropped the ball with Non as a character. There was a lot of potential to write a very gray character and build conflict that has the audience with a foot on each side. (for example: in the Thai drama titled 3 Will Be Free, starring DBK's Tay Tawan, two supporting characters are in direct conflict with the show's leads but because we get so much perspective from their side, they aren't considered bad guys to the viewers). It really annoys me when the writing is too simple and that's exactly what you get with Non. A simple villain. So much lost potential.

Overall, despite my issues with Pete as a character and how I personally believe that Non should have been written more sympathetically, I think DBK is very enjoyable.