Until We Meet Again The Series (2019)

La cosa che più mi è piaciuta è la recitazione. Fluke (Pharm) era davvero formidabile, e ha raggiunto il picco della sua bravura nell'ultimo episodio. Mi piacerebbe vederlo in altre serie o film. un altro attore che mi è piaciuto è stato Earth (In), anche se lui già lo conoscevo già per la sua bellissima recitazione in "Love by chance", ma anche in questa serie è stato bravissimo. Anche Samantha (Manaw), è riuscita a regalarci un personaggio spontaneo e divertente, anche se speravo di incontrarlo di più nella serie.

La storia mi è piaciuta molto, nel complesso è infatti molto scorrevole e interessante. Mi sono immersa totalmente nella storia già dalla prima parte del primo episodio. Capire che cosa era successo a Korn e In, capire il perché hanno fatto un gesto così estremo, il tutto con l'incredibile recitazione di Earth. Sto consigliando questa serie a tutti quelli che possono essere interessati, merita davvero di essere vista.
Alcune parti però mi sono risultate troppo lente e pesanti, mentre altre invece troppo sbrigative, ma nonostante questo mi ha trattenuto davanti allo schermo.

Leer más

Life is such sweet sorrow... Death too... heck it is complicated

Have you ever wondered what would happen to Romeo and Juliet if they where to meet again? Just that here it started in the late 80s, in Thailand and both are men.... but even the drama itself makes reference to the shakespeare so I am pretty sure that was part of what the writer was thinking when writing this drama. To be honest I find this one so hard to rate that it is ridiculous,... jumping between anything from an 8.5 to an 11.

The story is really interesting, playing with a well known classic and a very delicate subject, in the beginning of the drama I almost feared that this drama was a little bit too positive towards suicide but as the story progresses it becomes more and more clear how complex this issue is, and one may start to wonder if it is a happy or sad thing to meet again... and regain all those painful memories from ones past life... I can not stress enough how deep they dive in to this and what a great job they do showing this in a respectful way. However the sobbing and constant tears that follow did become a bit to much at one point. I could understand the need for it but at some point it became slightly tiersum... However I do not know if that is a good or bad thing. Also it does become slightly far fetched..

The characters in this drama (both past and present) are really lovable, interesting, well preformed and I would say pretty well written.

Phram is this sweet delicate soul, tormented by the trauma from his previous life. He is such a sweet little kitten (scaredy cat) making you want to protect him from all harm. This boy seemed to have no middle ether he is this cheerful bright guy or terrified and covered in tears.

In (past Phram) is such a sweet bundle of energy and joy, kind of like Phram could have been if he had not been tormented by his past life.

Dean is also very lovable, some may say he is kind of cold but he is actually a very warm caring teddy. The type to be there and make you feel safe. Though he does have a few issues too, he shows a lot of respect towards Pharm and seemed to understand the importance of consent (most of the time).

Korn (past Dean) is also very lovable, except for the whole killing himself in front of his dad and lover... (first scene of the drama) he comes of as this calm, wise and kind older brother.

And the rest of the characters are (mostly) easy to love, show development and fit their purpose well be it for product placement of Lays or make up... they just fit in so well.

Other strong points of this drama are the desserts and swim team... Also it has one pretty great umbrella scene!

This is definitely a drama that will keep you interested and have you feel a whole range of emotions and therefore a drama I highly recommend.

Leer más

You will love the series so much!

I just wanna appreciate the acting, the story line, the plot, the twist and the undeniable chemistry of the three couples. This series is full package.

Kudos to the actors, director, writers, crew and Wabi Sabi for creating such a beautiful series. While watching this, I have different emotions, I laughed so hard, giggled, screaming while watching those romantic scenes and at the same time, I cried so hard especially, on the last two episodes. I felt the heaviness of the scenes especially for Fluke's amazing acting and also, to Ohm... All of them gave justice to their characters, superb acting performance!

My most favorite part is when Pharm pointed the gun on his chin and hysterically crying while having those In's memories of witnessing how Korn's killed himself. I also love the part where Dean met his grandmother, Pharm or I must say In meeting his sister An after a long time
and also those scene with Alin, such a heartfelt scene. Hope to see more of this kind of series. From the beginning to end is so amazing!

This have a very special place in every viewer's hearts.

Family, love, acceptance, understanding and strength.

You will not regret watching this super amazing series!

Leer más

This sticks out in the BL genre

Trigger warnings: somewhat graphic depiction of suicide and a lot of talk about what is basically a suicide pact. Homophobia and some homophobic language. Anxiety is discussed and panic attacks take place. Weapons (guns).

With all of that said, none of it (accept the homophobia) is disrespectful. This drama is telling a story about life in the past and present and how (Thai) societal views on LGBT+ relationships and people have changed. The mental health and suicide stuff is not exploitative and it fits in the plot/ has a place in the story line.

Okay, so this drama made me cry a little in the first episode because it starts with heavy topics and it is a little jarring to watch. I will say it is not like The Effect (another BL) or anything like that. I would watch this again but I couldn't finish The Effect (it is good though but hard to watch).

This drama does a lot to break down barriers between the past and present and essentially does that with LGBT stigmas as well. I appreciated this drama from a story telling point of view. It is so much more artistic in the plot then most Thai BL drama's I have seen. I appreciate the artistry of the flash backs and how the y are sometimes also the dreams of the present characters. I really would suggest giving this a try, it's beautiful story that didn't rip out my heart, stomp on it, and set it on fire (only a little bit).

Leer más

Why Until We Meet Again is special among Thai BLs

Until We Meet Again is one of my favorite Thai BLs of all time.

I wouldn’t say it subverts tropes so much as it utilizes them as a spice for story, rather than utterly depending upon them. Most BLs (out of Thailand in particular) turn the tropes into the story. The narrative is entirely dependent on BL tropes for scene structure and plot. They are BL trope reliant/dependent.

UWMA is not like that at all.

Another way of putting it is that if you pulled all the BL specific tropes out of something like, oh I don’t know, 2gether, it would actually fall completely apart.

Now, I’m not talking about the romance foundational tropes like fated mates or fake relationship, those form the narrative backbone of any romance story (and most BL is romance). I’m talking about visual element tropes like baby is a floppy drunk, or the dreaded sponge bath, or wound tending, sharing earbuds, sharing a closet, etc...

For something like 2gether, these tropes ARE VITAL to moving the story along, fixing pacing issues, etc.. Which is FINE. That’s how most hey-day yaoi is. It’s how many contemporary romances are now.

But with Until We Meet Again if you removed all the BL tropes, the story would still be there, standing strong. The tropes add BL flavor to the series, like a spice, but in essence UWMA is actually just a fated mates romance, and it would stand strong as such if all the tropes were striped away (although we would probably lose WinTeam under those circumstances).

Another series that recently acts this way is 1000 Stars. Which is why, I think, it had such broad appeal and rabid fans.

Since it also doesn’t have a suicide element trigger, I would poset that 1000 Stars is actually one of the best BLs to recommend to outside watchers in order to lure them into the genre. Until it came out i tended to rec UWMA with a trigger warning, now I’ll probably be pimping 1k* first.

Leer más

Wowza

UWMA serves as the 4th BL that I've ever watched and had surpassed my expectations, quickly becoming my favorite. Even now when I'm on my 69th (haha) BL, UWMA still serves as one of my favorites and has a special place on my top 25 list. Although there are plenty of reviews, I'm dropping in my two cents for anyone willing to read.

Let's dive in.

Production: NIcely done. Not too much to praise them for, seeing as though they did not do much differently than other series, but I will say that the music was beautiful, and still stuck in my head to this day. (STAY WITH ME FOREVER, JUST YOU AND ME FOREVERRRRRRR< OOO OOOOOHHHH!!!) One thing I really truly hate about BLs is the number of ads that play. Usually, every BL has the same products to advertise (those drinks guys, I know you know what I'm talking about), but this one is the first to ever advertise Lays chips, so that was fun.

Story: Although I loved the premise of this series, it fell short in some areas. This is one of those series where you really have to sit down and get focused, cause if you don't, you will be highly confused about what's going on. I can't tell you the amount of times I had to go back and watch scenes to understand who was who's uncle, and who was related to who. Some things felt cringe and a little cliche, but it's a BL and I don't expect more or less.

Acting: beautiful acting done by Fluke. He continued to surpass my expectations each episode. He drove the series to be what it was and was so good at expressing those different emotions. Everyone else did a really good job, others that did an exceptionally good job were Earth, Kao, and Sammy.

COUPLES

Dean and Pharm: 9/10

I loved seeing their dynamic grow larger and larger as each episode went on. I'll tell you that the best thing about this couple is that they weren't forced together by those weird circumstances, and actually had chemistry and loved that was reciprocated, My absolute favorite scene between them was them in the grocery store together. I can never get over that scene. They just looked so in love. And they never dropped that expression that they had around each other. It was so intoxicating to see and I couldn't get enough of them. It was such a poetic romance between the two. There really just wasn't anything I hated about this couple.

FIRST KISS RATING: 13/10 - best first kiss ever. period. There is truly nothing like Pharm and Dean's first kiss, the music, the anticipation, the love, the longevity. ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. Couldn't have asked for anything more. All romance scenes to go from there were just so good.

Win and Team: 7/10

I really did like this couple, but to be completely honest, I can't remember really any of the moments with them. It's been a while since I've seen UWMA and I never rewatch, but from what I can remember, I enjoyed them. They did the Lays chip advertisement which is what I really remember most.

FIRST KISS RATING: 7/10 - Their kiss was cute. Just a quick little peck under the mistletoe. It happened pretty fast, and if you blink you would miss it, but I still haven't seen a mistletoe kiss since then, so it serves as the best mistletoe kiss for now. I don't know how I really feel about the drunken kiss that happened between them during the trip. I didn't love it, but it was whatever I guess.

In and Korn: 9/10

Their relationship was so devastating, but it was real and Earth and Kao did an amazing job. My heart felt so full every time they popped up on the screen. Somewhere in me, I wanted way more of them than we got to see.

FIRST KISS RATING: 10/10 - Beach kisses are the best. It was a beautiful mix between the music, and their story, and their chemistry. Absolutely loved it. All other scenes after was just as magnificent.

RECOMMEND? Mmmm, I wouldn't recommend this BL to first-timers since it is VERY heavy, but if someone wanted a recommendation I would definitely recommend this one.

Leer más

I don't know what to say. Is this drama good, absolutely. Does it have a good story, yes and a very different one compared to other Thai BL dramas. Does it contains heart melting romance, damn yes. Will it make you cry, a little bit. But most importantly, does it have a happy ending, that my friends is a very big YES.

What I applaud most about this drama, is its story, which was in par with the mainstream dramas. It was commendable, how the drama binds together all the characters and not just focus on the leading couple. In most BL dramas, the main focus is always on the buildup of the relationship between the main couple and their friends. Basically the leads' struggle within themselves is highlighted. But "Until I met you" was refreshingly different. I could see the story from the eyes of many different characters. I could feel their emotions. The flashback scenes were amazing. Each scene had a meaning, a reason to be there in the show.

The acting and character development of each character was very good. And I mean it when I say that for 'each character'. Dean is a quite and strict man. But gradually after meeting with Pharm, he starts feeling more happy and socialises more with his siblings and his friends. I loved how his personality undergoes slow and gradual changes like a little smile or little romantic stares instead of stark changes. It is because he has always carried the burden of his memories, actually much more than Pharm. Pharm is a cute, innocent boy and dude, he has given some good emotional scenes throughout the series. Talking about the development of other characters, I loved how the story binded the Ariyasakul and the Chatphokin families together, both 30 years ago and in the present time. So, each and every character had something to realise and to deliver, from Dean's mother and grandmother to Pharm's grandfather, uncle and his cousin. Now, saving the best for the last, I loved the acting of Intouch, portrayed by Earth. I believe that he had the most variations in his acting, from sweet to cute, hyper energetic and sad too. I simply loved him. I think he and Korn had more variations of romantic scenes, i;e: from food making trials to giving the umbrella to Korn under the rain, from the candy and the keychain gift to the beach confession, whereas the love display between Dean and Pharm was limited to visiting each others places and Pharm cooking good food. I wished there were more.

I loved the ost of 'you and me forever'. It's so freaking romantic. I think this drama will be a memorable one in the universe of BL. It is a must for all BL and all drama lovers. I re-watched it within a week, this is how much I loved the whole scenario. Do watch it. You won't be disappointed.

Leer más

Nowadays is such a rare thing to see original series like this one, even rarer a series like this one where the main characters are gay. Until we Meet again is a mature and complex story that you rarely see. But a good story cannot be told if it doesn't have good storytellers, and this series had that starting from the writers and Director. Then we got our actors who did such an excellent job, I cannot praise the two leads more.

The series does deal with serious topics like homophobia and suicide, which it might be triggering since is really explicit. There's some aspects of that that I did not like how it was handled in the last two episodes, but I won't go in detail about that since it would spoil it. Also just being nitpicky there were a couple of episodes in the middle that felt more like fillers so it gets boring, but overall is a great series with a magnificent team.

Leer más

It wasn't an "oh my god this is amazing" mind blowing kind of show, but it wasn't a terrible show at the same time. It took me a while to even get into it, the flashbacks are really intense but also kind of pointless at the same time. It's kind of draggy and more dramatic than you would think.

I liked the unique story, two lovers that couldn't be together in a past life that end up being reincarnated and meeting in a new life. The only thing I didn't like is the crying, it was happening so much, and I get it when you're freaked out by the flashbacks but you were gonna have a good life and things are chill so why keep crying? Idk, that's just me though. Lol.

The acting wasn't bad, semi new faces, they were all cute together, I liked the relationship and friendships and acceptance.

Music was enjoyable, really set the mood.

Overall, I wouldn't rewatch it lol but it was a good show. Made me cry and all that though.

Leer más

Wow.... Just wow

Best BL I’ve ever watched. Until I started this I had TharnType and Why R U as my favorite BLs, but this tops them by far. The story is so emotional and the acting is amazing. Usually when I watch a drama I tend to focus too much on the acting aspect of it, thinking about how awkward some scenes must have been to film, or what it would have been like on set. But with this drama I’m just 100% immersed in the story as if it was all real. This makes you feel so many things, and you’re guaranteed to cry if you watch it, but don’t let that throw you off. This is absolutely a must watch!

Leer más

Nothing can top this!

If a drama can make me cry, it IS an awesome drama. BUT a drama that can make me cry within the first five minutes of its first episode, I'm officially ruined for that entire genre. I don't think I can find another BL series as good as this one wherein everything seemed to fit in my likes.

It's actually a simple reincarnation story but I became invested into the whole story due to how well the actors played their characters. I could actually feel and understand what they were trying to convey. No half-a*sed crying from Fluke and Earth. Plus the differences in everyone's personalities made it diverse and compelling. The chemistry between the pairings is also there. They were all believable and not awkward at all.

The soundtracks. I'm not ashamed to admit that I slept with the main theme song by boy sombop on repeat. If you ask me to translate it, I can NOT! But the whole vibe of the song can really take you down the melancholy road. And when I finally read the translated lyrics, oh my god --- straight to the kokoro! I also liked four other tracks from the series and I think they all fit the pairings they were designated to.

The only thing I could have asked for more was that last bit where Dean and Pharm proved that their love was theirs. I wished they could have shown a bit more of that journey rather than snippets of giving deserts with sticky notes.

Other than that, I have no complaints at all! I highly recommend this series to those who love a good drama and not just body flashing and smut (I would also love some but this isn't the series for those :p).

Leer más