My Only 12% (2022)

Only 12% Is Good

I came upon this drama by seeing a snippet of it posted on Instagram. That scene is arguably the sweetest and best part of the whole drama, the rest is a slow, repetitive slog that even the acting skills of Earth and Santa can't quite redeem. The story itself isn't bad despite the fact that it's entirely predictable. I wanted to like it and there were certainly aspects that I did like, but as a whole it just failed to engage. The lack of character development, the excessive crying, the slow pacing, and repetition, coupled with the final episodes being overly preachy and moving away from the romance of the rest of the drama resulted in a less than stellar product.

Like I said, the story itself isn't bad even though it is predictable. The problem comes from the slow pacing and repetition. The first couple episodes were more of a slow burn that I didn't mind so much because characters and the background were still being established. But once that was established, it became frustrating that it felt like very little was happening or progressing a lot of the time. The repetition was throughout. Eiw would feel hurt because of something Cake did or feel neglected and would sulk until they finally made up or, mostly after the time jump, vice versa. Despite the pair constantly talking about how they'd known each other since they were babies and how much they cared about each other, their communication absolutely sucked and I didn't feel that was ever really addressed or resolved.

Another detractor was the constant water works from Eiw. I don't think there was a single episode where he didn't cry at least once and he spent the vast majority of the final two episodes in tears. On the one hand, kudos to Earth because that had to be exhausting, I hope they kept him well hydrated with the amount of water he was losing, and for the most he was believable, but it was another aspect that was very repetitive. I was truly hoping after the time jump and the changes that he made to himself, there would be less crying, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

The character development felt like it was lacking despite the number of years that go by. Yes, Eiw does make a change and come out of his shell and learn to socialize, but it feels superficial. Ultimately, he and Cake are still wrapped in their own little world where very little has changed. Even Cake coming out and saying that he would be gay with Eiw felt shallow. Maybe part of it is that while Eiw's feelings for Cake were developed and explored which was an aspect that I overall liked and felt was well done, we get none of that with Cake. He just comes back after 4 years and suddenly his love for Eiw has transformed from that of a brother to romantic. It felt far too abrupt and without reason. I wanted to see how Cake came to the realization that he loved Eiw romantically. The other characters felt equally stagnant. Again, despite the passing years, it didn't feel like there was much, if any, difference between them as high school and university students. Any changes were communicated verbally, not by actions.

The last two episodes were the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. We suddenly move from focusing on the romance between Eiw and Cake to Eiw's mom is dying and we're going on an anti-smoking campaign. It felt disjointed and like it didn't fit with the rest of the story. The vast majority of these final two episodes are spent with everyone crying, people constantly saying that his mom is going to be fine which was obviously a lie, Eiw blaming himself which while on the one hand was realistic to an extent, was again repetitive because we've gotten this from him several times previously. Not everything bad that happens is your fault, hon. But he's bound and determined to make it his fault. And then there's the anti-smoking PSA which just felt awkward and out of place. The doctor's explanation that the fact their father smoked was the cause of their mother's cancer was complete and total BS. Yes, third hand smoke is a real issue, but to so definitively say that was the cause of cancer was ridiculous. And then Eiw talks about how he asked his dad at every festival and holiday to stop smoking which I didn't find believable. I don't know many kids who would have enough of an understanding of the dangers of smoking to do something like that. Maybe once they were older, but I got the impression he'd been doing that since he was a little kid. Also, that's why he was mad at his dad? Not for abandoning their family which is also never explained why he did so, not for apparently failing to maintain contact, but because he smoked. That didn't seem realistic to me. And then there's the ending with Cake's friends suddenly deciding to throw out their packs of cigarettes and we're treated to a close up of them in the trash. None of it felt very cohesive with the rest of the story.

In terms of the characters themselves, I found them all to be a bit underwhelming. While I liked Cake for the most part, I found Eiw to be annoying and boring much of the time. Cake was much more nuanced with his emotions and reactions to things. He was interesting to watch. Eiw though spent 90% of the drama whining, crying and nagging. There was definitely an element of what on earth does Cake see in him. He got better after the time jump once he had more confidence, but the character was never my favorite. The other characters just kind of felt like they were there most of the time. The romance between Hom and Peak was lackluster and not believable to me. He stays hooked on this girl that he met a handful of times and doesn't really know for years? Also, timing, sir. His decision to pull her aside to talk about their relationship, or lack thereof, and ask her for another chance while her mother was dying was incredibly cringe inducing to watch.

The acting was a mixed bag. I liked Santa as Cake. For this being only his second drama in a main role, he did really well. He managed to convey a lot of emotion with just his eyes, but was equally good using facial expressions and body language. His acting made Cake the most interesting character to watch. Earth, Earth, Earth. He's a good actor, I know he is from other dramas I've seen him in, but I feel like he was so underutilized in this drama. His ability to realistically cry is impressive. Despite the amount of crying that he had to do in this drama, it rarely felt forced or fake. But he can do more than that, and I don't feel like he was really given a chance to shine. He was pigeonholed into this role of being weak, naggy, and overemotional and his character wasn't really allowed to develop beyond that. Prem was good as Eiw's older brother, Pao. Despite being a year younger than Earth, he was realistic as an older brother and I really liked him in a more mature role. I think this is actually my favorite role he's played.

The production was overall pretty good. I liked the way the changing technology was used to help show the passage of time. The cinematography was pretty good. There were a handful of shots that I really liked and the rest was decent. I can't say much for the music because I didn't notice it all that much, which can be seen as a positive since it wasn't distracting.

I didn't hate this drama, but I also didn't love it. Frankly, I found it to be pretty forgettable. It has some good moments, some sweet scenes, but I ultimately just found it to be lacking in almost every respect. Is it worth watching? Meh. You're not missing out if you choose not to watch it. Honestly, if you want to see the best part, just Google Cake's love confession from episode 12. It is truly the highlight of the drama, in my opinion, and one of the best confession scenes I've ever seen in a BL. Otherwise, the rest really isn't worth the time or effort to stay invested.

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Such a sweet show about childhood friends

The story spans a respectable timeline of several years – from when the boys were still in high school until they are in college. Very few shows do this, precisely because of how challenging it can be to track the development of a single character across time, but I think My Only 12% was a decent attempt.

In an era saturated with mature BLs, the innocence of My Only 12% makes it stand out from the rest. There are no kisses up until episode 12 (out of 14 episodes), but that doesn’t make the show any less romantic.

Cake and Eiw’s feelings are painfully obvious to everyone else but each other – typical for most coming-of-age love stories (see ITSAY, Star In My Mind and Sotus). The show is pretty much this exploration of this friendship as it evolves to become something more. Were all the meanders and misunderstandings worth it? I think yes.

The final 2 episodes also turned out to be a huge anti-smoking campaign – that’s fine but it was a little over the top for me and came from nowhere. Other than that, I really liked this show, the MDL reviews (>8.0) are accurate!

My full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/11/13/my-only-12-review/

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Great emotional chemistry but a little long

Reviewed this at episode 8, but I have now lowered my score from 9.5 to 8.5. I stand by what I said but this show could have benefitted from some editing down. If like two or three episodes worth of content was removed, this would have been perfect. There just wasn’t enough plot to keep it running for 14 eps.

This resulted in some scenes dragging on unnecessarily.
I also feel like the flow was a little off . The last episode should have been an episode or two prior, and then the final episode could have been a goodbye to the characters, as it was a character focused show.

That being said:

This is what Theory of Love should have been, unrequited love at its finest. There, I said it.

I think the biggest difference here, and what makes this feel so genuine is the display of their relationship. Rather than telling us they’re best friends, joined at the hip since birth, and practically each other’s other-half, they SHOWED us. You see them grow up together, and see the special bond they have. Kudos to the actors because they did a phenomenal job establishing emotional chemistry that rivals a lot of my favorites.

The character depth adds layers to this. You can understand why Eiw loves Cake, because we see Cake from his perspective.
Not only that, but you can see that Cake truly loves and cares for Eiw, romantic feelings aside, from the very beginning. I think Cake was really well-written and his storyline so far has been crafted in just the right way that he doesn’t come off like an inconsiderate asshole. It would be very easy for his character to go south, if he was not written the way that he was. He isn’t oblivious to Eiw pushing away from him in earlier episodes. He understands that Eiw is upset about something and tries to communicate with him, even scratching the surface of the issue. Gasp, a ML with emotional intelligence? Shocking.

Eiw might be annoying for some. I don’t mind it but he is whiny and pouty. His actor is really incredible at crying though, I’ve thought this since LBC and UWMA lol. Honestly, the emotional scenes between the leads really pack a good punch. Like I said, their emotional chemistry is really solid.

I would recommend this. Even after completing this, I’ll argue this is nearly the most ideal unrequited to requited BL out there.

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A premise that has been done but a feeling not many can convey.

This is a friends-to-lovers story from the outside but feel reaches the heights of what some of the best BL stories can offer. Some People may not appreciate its slow-burn style of storytelling but I believe it enhances every part of the plot from its characters to its story. There is so much character-building right from the start all the way to the end. You truly feel like you are a part of the world of the characters, as each week goes by more and more layers are added to its story and characters, its a universal show that has so many moments of relatability. It goes through the highs and lows of growing up as a queer person, the fleeting friendships, and just experiencing life. While it may be a premise that has been done I don't think any have felt as fleshed out as this, it's a sad series but equally shows us the happy moments, the important moments of love that help bring levity & realism to its story. It's one of the best depictions of life on screen. This series takes the audience seriously and expects us to take it slow and we were so rewarded for our investment! The story centers around friendship to the eventual lover relationship between childhood friends Cake (Santa) and Eiw (Earth). Eiw is a character you see as a person who is so introverted, so scared to put himself out there, and Cake a boy the complete opposite of Eiw. He's outgoing, has a lot of friends, and has a girlfriend. but because of their strong bond at birth, as they get older their dependence on each other begins to become something confusing for Eiw as they begin to leave adolescence behind. Despite their differences Cake is someone who is so caring, and gentle with Eiw & his feelings. Over the course of the series, you see the struggles of young Eiw discovering himself and his sexuality. As these revelations come to light for Eiw so do the conflicts and struggles that test the bonds and dependency of these two friends, You see Eiw evolve as well as see the complex character of Cake begin to wrestle deeply with his feelings for Eiw. It is a timeless tale but brought up new heights by its superb acting by both veteran actor Earth and new actor Santa, who completely brings depth and nuance to Cake that is hard for any actor to pull off but Santa delivers what I see is a breakout performance that rival many of the top actors in the Industry. Its themes are explored with care and nuance that I feel really makes this series sing. The directing adds some deliberate choices to enhance the story, as well as great music to bring out the emotions of everyone. Many BL stories don't get the proper time to develop the relationships between the leads and this slow pace made for the perfect and satisfying build of this relationship throughout the characters' lives. So I was much more invested. I think there is so much to love about this series, and if you can be open to its slow pace I do find the reward at the end is something worth taking this journey to see.

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Almost perfect for a childhood-friends-to-lovers story

As soon as I realized that the main leads for this series were Santa and Earth (the same as in the first episode of 7 Project), I was very excited to watch. I had already seen Earth in other projects with secondary roles, so I was happy to see that he got to be the protagonist of a series for once. I was a little annoyed to see him in the role of a high-schooler (which is how I feel about any actor in his late 20s with a teenage character), but I decided to give it a go anyway.

This is a very sweet coming-of-age/slice-of-life story. The pacing of the story is a little slow, but I believe that this is also the reason why every scene felt very natural. The acting was very good and I loved how vivid every situation felt. It was a little sad at times, but not in an unbearable way - for the most part I found it very romantic and the bond between See-Eiw and Cake was portrayed very well. While the show only actually focuses on the relationship between the two main characters and not much else, I appreciated it as I was fully invested in the story and couldn't wait to see how it would go on.

What actually felt disappointing were the last couple of episodes because of how out of place they were compared to the rest. There was no sufficient build-up for the events, and I don't even believe it brought anything relevant to the story to be worth it. Overall, they felt like an attempt from the writers to bring in more dramatic events and more angst (and hurt/comfort) to the characters, which is a pity since everything else was so well-made.

I recommend watching this series despite its flaws in case you like the friends-to-lovers trope. I'd also recommend not watching episode 13th and skipping to the last part of episode 14th for the ending, but rather than butcher your experience from the get go, it might be better to see for yourself and make your own opinion.

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Santa delights in a slow to start but worth the wait BL drama

You have to be patient with this one as they take waaaay to long on their childhood and then very little time on the ending. But the middle is so worth the wait that I know I'll be re-watching their university time period.

Santa as Cake was amazing. Earth as Eiw was hard to love in the beginning and end but grew on you in the middle. Earth's crying splits the audience but overall he did well in the role. You're not meant to like him and they way he is babied all the way though and snivels can be a lot.

It dropped points because I didn't see the point of Peak storyline - this wasn't in the novel I don't think so this felt like a clunky second couple. Also the ending, although the same as in the novel needed more time than it was given.

Afterday is a brilliant writer and even starred in this as Eiw's sister Hom. This stuck pretty closely to the novel.

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In my 100% you're the %1 I'll only love ♡

Definitely recommend just maybe bring a whole roll of bounty, a teddy and chocolates with you if you wanna binge it.

9/10 For me. Santa and Cooheart did an amazing job their chemistry was top notch and the story heart warming and gut wrenchingly painful at times I.e. last two eps especially for me who has had to deal with the same thing as Eiw. Where it gets the point deducted is with Peak and Hom's storyline, I didn't think it was necessary and inappropriately placed within the second to last episode, their relationship was the last thing on my mind, I did not need to see Peak pull Hom aside to talk while she was in the hospital. The rest of it I enjoyed and loved actually, Santa and Cooheart as Cake and Eiw will be missed ?

Music- The scoring was beautiful per usual standard with a Wabi Sabi Production.

Acting- 10/10 Tho the dad was a bit questionable with his crying still everyone did great whether I liked their character or not.

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In my top 10 favorite shows of all time!

I previously reviewed the drama and I rated at 10 out of 10 but I watched it again and it still has a 10 writing but I’d like to expand upon why.

Normally, I’m not a huge friends to lovers trope kind of gal, but Earth and Santa killed me with this drama just killed me. From the very beginning, we get a really good understanding of the relationship with one another and just how close they really are to each other having grown up next-door, and been best friend their entire lives. I think the way they depict friendship is really beautiful. How you can love someone in ways that they may be can’t love themselves, and even though Cake was much more outgoing and had more friends he never treated. See-Eiw as less then, and just respected the boundaries that See-Eiw had said even though he wanted to push him to be a bit more outgoing, and I totally see that in friendships in real life.

I love the way that the drama depicted see you, realizing that he’s gay and that he’s in love with cake and it wasn’t just like he woke up one day and was like oh man I’m in love with my best friend, he saw a drama and recognized the commonalities between his friendship, and what he saw that drama and I I feel like that’s so realistic, especially if you don’t have people who are gay in your life that you can cannot compare yourself to or recognize attributes of yourself within. Also round of applause for his sister being supportive of him in that realization because the show was set in like the early 2000s and so it wasn’t as LGBTQIA friendly then as it is now.

I thought them depicting Cake in his family, leaving and the reaction of see you when they did was so incredibly heartbreaking but also realistic. I’ve read a lot of reviews and many people talk about how old earth cries too much but you would be bawling your eyes out to if the person that you are in love with who’s been your very best friend for the entire 15 years of your life is leaving. Not to mention this is happening, just after See-Eiw finally comes to terms with his feelings and his sexuality it’s a lot of course he’s crying about it I would too.

Another aspect of the drama, that I like, is how they split the perspectives in the first half of the drama we’re really primarily following see you, and in the second half of the drama were most of the following cake as each of them come to terms with like their feelings for the other. There’s drama shows you that it can be a slow process and scary and messy and involving jealousy as you figure out all these things.

I’m not usually want to cry while watching dramas, but this really touched me in my heart. Maybe it’s because I was once in love with the best friend back in high school and it’s so realistic the way that I felt in the way that they depicted this in this drama or maybe it’s just because the actors are amazing.

I didn’t love the last episode, but it is what it is and it does not take away from the rest of the drama for me. Definitely in the top 10 best shows from any country that I’ve ever seen in my life. Great job studio, Wabi Sabi just great job!

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Be mentally prepared

First of all I'm not really good at reviews so forgive my mistakes....At first I thought it was a another cute highschool Thai BL. Boy was I wrong. This story is the most underrated, pure and most innocent BL I've ever watched so far.

I'd like to describe it as a baby I want to protect forever. The actors did a really good job at portraying the characters, I could literally feel Cake and Eiw's pain and happiness every step of the way.

Especially when Cake announced he was moving to America for three years...boy did I cry. The emotions the actors showed really made me break down and cry. I don't think I've spoken to anyone watching the show who hasn't cried and felt the pain of Eiw and Cake. Maybe it hurt more for me because I did lose my best friend because she had to move to another state so it hit close to home.

I feel like more people need to watch the show because I believe it's genuinely good. The great thing about the story is that it doesn't only revolve around Cake and Eiw but Eiw's older sister also whose in varsity and falls for a nine grade highschool but dismisses the relationship because remember society is judgemental and would never let you have your happily ever after.

So far I'm loving the show it makes my Friday worth living.

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Uhm Wow

The acting of the two main character's and their relationship was wonderful and complex (and I was also very happy to see Prem again as See-Eiw's older brother). Their relationship played with my heart in almost every way and though it wasn't flawless, I guess not many things are. Cake receiving blessings for his relationship with See-Eiw from the family was so meaningful to me, as it was very natural and warmly delivered. However, major flaws include the main character's sister falling in love with a fifteen year old - this was framed as though she was the victim of societal bullying when really she's actually a creep. Why her friend framed their 'relationship' the way it is truly baffles me and sometimes it was too hard to watch the director make this seem as if she was the victim of this situation - she was right to stay away from a high schooler and to make an entire plot about her being torn up about it just made me severely uncomfortable. Otherwise, the only other thing this show suffered from was a bit of slow pacing in the beginning as well as the end being a full no smoking commercial. See-Eiw's father's addiction was treated poorly, as if it wasn't an addiction and I think that this topic as well as the sister's relationship should have been treated much more delicately due to their sensitive nature. Rating this is complicated, and even though my rating doesn't seem to reflect it, I did enjoy watching this show, though sometimes hard to watch or slow, in the end I don't regret it.

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What's wrong? Nothing... I just cry at everything.

From the trailer (and the first episode), I expected not to like this, but it exceeded my expectations. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

SANTA. Hell yes... he's all I want for Christmas. This boy's got it all: looks, charisma, charm, talent. Fanning myself just thinking about him.

SOME FAMILIAR FACES. Nice to see Prem in a different kind of role, and great to see Peak (Fuse from the Make It Right series) after a hiatus.

CONS

EARTH. We get it, he's good at crying. But the directors decided that he had to cry at EVERYTHING. And the Eiw character was so ridiculously weak and helpless it just became annoying. He might as well have worn a shirt saying "Bully Me." Cake, what do you see in this guy?

MOM'S CAUSE OF DEATH. Sure, complications from second hand smoke can be real, but the explanation the doctor gave for Mom's condition was ridiculous. For one, there would be no way of knowing the exact cause of the cancer. If the writers were on a mission to bring the dangers of second hand smoke to light, then good for them. But it was still a very weak plot.

It's a 6.5 from me.

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Unrivaled Emotional Chemistry

I am pleasantly stunned by the the emotional chemistry between the two main leads. Words can't describe how thoroughly pleased I am by this bl. They have taken a very overdone trope and managed to recycle it and make it emotionally poignant and delightful. This is definitely going into my list of classic Bls. Everyone should watch this. It delivers on all fronts as far as I am concerned. It's 11/10. I have cried, laughed and felt tense with them. They had me with the 1st episode and as it progresses it somehow manages to get better and better. It's not perfect, but it certainly is beautiful and worthy of an applause. ❤️??

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