Love Mechanics (2022)

KelpiView : Angsty love at its best.

Overall Impression:
I had to stop for a while to ponder on the words that I might use to describe my overall impression of Love Mechanics, but in my totally unbiased opinion, I have settled for a few words. Awesome. Perfectly paced. well casted. Enough romantic and comedic scenes to go around. Adequate amount of skin. In my totally biased opinion, it is nothing short of a masterpiece.

What i liked about it:
Awesome cast!
The cast has done an awesome job of bringing the characters to life. Main leads, Yin and War, was perfect for their role. Other notable cast members that has left a good impression on me was Ormsin (Yiwaa), Got (Bar), Bonz (Yoo). Pharoah (Tee), Saran (Lee). Apart from good acting, the production team's choice of actors/actresses are well placed as well. Usually when a series's character get complimented that he/she looks like their mum/dad.. I would often give a slow chuckle and roll my eyes because they look nothing alike. BUT! this series, for the choice for Mark's mum.. it was funny how i feel that both of them has a similar smile / facial structure. They did not even need to go on the "you look like your mother" route for me to take notice.

Not to slow, nor too fast!
The pacing of the whole series was done well. it wasnt too hasty at the end nor was it too slow to watch. there's something in almost every episode. be it either a major issue or some character development. I guess this is as far as it can get from a slow romance. lol. i appreciate the pacing that kept me wanting more. Honestly even though i have watched the first tester series (En of love : Love Mechanics), meaning i know most of the plot already. But with the little addition and changes feels refreshing and it was like a totally new series to me.

Great flow in terms of storytelling!
Part of a good show is not only the cast members, but also how the story is told, how it unfolds and how it would be perceived. In terms of storytelling, Love Mechanic has a top spot in my rankings. Story climaxes are dealt with resolution as it comes one after another. In turn, i would need to credit the production team for their good choices in terms of cuts and placements. it was totally coherent and made the story more impactful than it already is.

What i disliked about it:
Inadequate side couple moments.
Ok, this may be just a personal preference, but i wished the side couples are shown a lil bit more than what is was shown. I know the story centers around VeeMark, but having a lil more side couple moments would make my heart fuller than it already is. GunBar could use a few more scenes. oh! i liked that fact that they showed tidbits of their upcoming shows namely Future (AnaFuse) as well as Call my name (YooKamphan) which i wish was also teased a lil bit more, but i shall wait patiently for the release of respective shows. though, my side couple syndrome aches. like a lot. lol.

Did i enjoy it?:
From the way i was gushing over the show up above, yes. I think i enjoyed the show a lot. a time well spent.

Would i recommend it to others?:
If angsty love is your favourite trope, then definitely give this a try. you will definitely fall in l ove with Yin and War for their character portrayal. That being said, I do think the show might not be for everyone, due to its angst. Yes, there are sweet moments in the show, but the most impactful scenes are the angsty ones lol. But give it a try if you have not, you might find yourself liking it more than you should. maybe. i guess.. hopefully. do what you want LOL. :shrugs:

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messy disaster bi, out gay boy, cheating, drama llamas

Delayed from 2021 this is a reboot, retcon, retelling, expansion of the original short miniseries En of Love - Love Mechanics (VeeMark) from Wabi Sabi featuring the most popular and enduring pair to come from that series, YinWar. (They also stared in high school sad BL mini series: The Best Story.) Prom (Nuea also from En of Love series) and a few other familiar faces returned plus some of the same characters portrayed by new actors. Directed by Lit (SOTUS).

Our favorite messy cheeky drama-llama boys were back in spades. And initially I enjoyed it more than I should (and more than it deserved). This whole series is basically a diatribe against cheating, with the sweet out gay boy reaping all the punishment a disaster bi can enact. I don’t like any of these tropes or implications, and yet I couldn’t stop watching. YinWar are geniuses at chemistry and good actors, and their new high heat stuff is excellent. When they are together as a couple, VeeMark are a GREAT couple, like FighterTutor level, only slightly less sappy. But the rest of time is just chaos. It’s hard not to get mad at the messy, whether it be characters, story, or script, but when it’s performed this well, it’s occasionally fun to wallow in the agony.

I really loved the class conflict introduced near the end and what it says about the characters and their families. Why did it only came into play in the last few episodes? Honestly, it could’ve been the plot for the whole drama and it would’ve been so much more absorbing if they had dwelled in the Heirs sphere, rather than the chaotic messy bi-slut cheating space.

In the end? YinWar win the Great Chemistry in Bad Thai BL Wars of 2022 (TM), even over BounPrem. YinWar were great, and they were great in this, but the story was not good, and not improved by being given more time to hang itself. I like the shorter En of Love version better (yes I think they can and should be compared) and I’m was left simply hoping YinWar get more work in the future, they can clearly handle anything that’s chucked at them.

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Love can be messy

The two main leads have a lot of complexity written into their characters and they portray mixed emotions very well. My take on the drama;

I see Mark as a person who knows he can love wholeheartedly and when he is disappointed in not winning his intended love interest he backs off and tries to deal with the aftermath of feelings by drinking and looking for random hook-ups. The scene of drunken mistaken identity is more a fanciful wish on his part and gives Mark the chance to act out the passionate love scene he has missed out on.

Vee is in a long term committed relationship with his girlfriend and has a strong need to be helpful and have others like him. He assists the very inebriated Mark and when Mark throws himself at him he finds himself turned on and reciprocates. This sexual encounter affects both of them badly. Mark is angry and hates Vee for the encounter. Vee is confused and begins to realise he is sexually attracted to Mark and then the story unfolds.

Youth in university exploring their sexuality without yet fully understanding what is required to maintain a relationship. Friends adding their own input to the confusion. Jelousy, judgements, sacrifice and selfishness overlaid with raging hormones and insecurities.

The parents add some interesting dynamics to the mix and the two male leads are influenced by their attitudes.

As a love story it has fulfilled this role. The two MLs have a strong chemistry and they are sufficiently different to add the angsty thought that maybe they won't be able to stay together.
Very watchable and rewatchable.

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Kho-thot: the Series

Because of my feelings in dropping this title, I'm actually surprised how highly rated this show is compared to lower average rated shows that were far better in my opinion.

The catchphrase for this show should be "I'm sorry." Every main character says it so many times but can't seem to stop doing things that require an apology to someone.

Vee's personality is annoying in the way that he's wishy-washy and not assertive when he does make a decision. He's whiney and makes terrible choices. Or lets people drag him into terrible decisions. There was a point i shipped him with Mark but it just got too bad. Vee doesn't deserve to be half of the main couple. When a relationship is the plot, then i should want them to be together, right?

Honestly, by episode 7, i wanted Mark to get with Nuea. He was far more empathetic and charismatic. It honestly would've been a fresh take if all of a sudden the main couple switched because of conflict. That would be interesting, especially if it's one you're rooting for instead.

Vee brings nothing but angst and doesn't do anything or offer anything that makes him deserve Mark's love. I know that's not how love works. But a person deserves better from a partner. It's a shame cuz Vee's actor is the cutest one.

Vee's character is someone who says the things he's supposed to say but can never put them into action. He's that toxic friend you don't want to cut out because you like him and he can make you feel good sometimes. But it's like he brings misery everywhere. And yet he's supposed to be a likable main character.

I also hate the cliche setups of misunderstanding to create conflict. This series didn't execute those scenes well at all. I could see each one coming from a mile away. Those cliches combined with Vee not being likable enough to maintain sympathetic main character status just makes me tired of watching. I don't want to see them together.

The main actors also seemed a little awkward in any kiss scenes.

It never brings me joy to drop a series. I already invested my time into 7 episodes because i was interested enough. But it managed to slowly lose me.

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Mechanic Needed

Going into Love Mechanics, I was expecting something pretty special. I'd heard some pretty high praise for it, not to mention the high rating, and based on the hype, I figured this was going to be one of my new favorite dramas. But after watching it, I really don't understand that hype. It was decidedly mediocre, certainly nothing to write home about. The plot, what little there was of one, was repetitive. Miscommunication ran rampant, more so than in a lot of other BLs. It got to a point where it was just tedious. What other absurd reason are the writers going to come up with to keep our leads separate? And what makes it even more disappointing is the fact that Yin and War have fantastic chemistry, but we get so very little time of them actually together and happy, not fighting or sulking or some other terrible emotional state. This drama gets added to the list of ones that had potential but just went nowhere.

Love Mechanics gets added to the ever growing list of dramas without a plot. I know I've said this before, but why is it so hard to write a story that actually has a point? What happens essentially is that Mark and Vee get together, or almost get together, something or someone comes between them, they fight, one or both gets blackout drunk, rinse and repeat. I'm not kidding, that is exactly what happens and not just once, but three or four times. It's ridiculous and sad. Especially the drinking. Almost every character here needed to go to AA. I don't think I've ever seen a drama where drinking was so prevalent. Scenes of characters going out and getting drunk were featured at least once an episode, sometimes more. And besides the drinking being repetitive, the conversations that went with it were equally repetitive. It was a constant conversation of who liked who, trying to force confessions, or woe is me I'll never find love. It got old very quickly, especially with people, Yihwa especially, trying to find ways to force others, namely Mark, into revealing their feelings. Who needs or wants friends like that? It was all very toxic.

Ploy, Vee's ex-girlfriend, was a repeat offender when it came to separating our leads. That being said though, I didn't hate her. She was not portrayed as the villainous woman who deliberately came between them. Her cheating on Vee was, of course, unacceptable and she acknowledged that and that she had made a mistake, but when she found out that Vee had moved one, she didn't maliciously try to sink her claws into him to stay. That final kiss between them was a mistake on both their parts, Vee for putting himself in a situation where it could happen and Ploy for letting her emotions get the best of her, though considering what she'd been through, it's understandable that she'd be a bit emotionally fragile and unstable. But she still tried to make things right, explaining what had happened to Vee's friends and trying to explain to Mark as well. Having her become a source of contention between Vee and Mark three times though was just overkill because then you had Mark misinterpreting their relationship during the photo shoot. What I found most disappointing in regards to Ploy and Vee's relationship is that there is an element of Ploy being depicted as the bad guy for cheating on Vee, however, at the same time, you have Vee cheating on Ploy with Mark and not only does he never tell Ploy of his philandering, the fact that he was cheating as well is never really brought up. That aspect felt very sexist.

Miscommunication is always a popular method of causing drama and moving the story forward, but Love Mechanics took it to the next level. It was just miscommunication after miscommunication between Mark and Vee and it got to a point where it felt very lazy. I began to wonder if they were ever going to get together and there were more than a few moments where I just hung my head because, yup, here we go again with one of them saying or doing something stupid and causing the other to misunderstand them. I really wanted to see these two sit down and have a long heart to heart conversation which, naturally, never happened.

Everyone falling in love with Mark was just weird. Yes, he's cute, but to have multiple men positively pining over him seemed highly unrealistic. Krat especially came out of literally nowhere and started pursuing Mark hard. That whole plot line was just super weird and out of left field. It really didn't fit in well and since by that time I was beyond sick of all the roadblocks that kept popping up for our couple, I was never going to be a fan. Nuea's relentless pursuit of Mark wore thin pretty quickly as well. Consent was not a strong point in this drama as Mark told both men that he wasn't interested and that didn't faze them in the slightest and they just kept coming on to him.

The characters were a mix of good and bad. Mark, Vee, Bar, Kan, Yoo, Mark's mother and Vee's and Yoo's parents were the sum total of characters that I overall liked. Despite the drama between them, I did mostly like Mark and Vee. Mark's moments of immaturity towards Vee when he was trying to push him away and the way he essentially taunted Vee with whether or not he would forgive him were his less endearing traits, but overall I don't think he was a bad guy. Loving Vee was certainly not easy and there is an element that some of what he did was done in an effort to protect himself from further harm. He was shown though to be a good and loyal friend. And even though it hurt, I appreciated his maturity in letting Bar go once he knew he was taken. His sassiness was entertaining and I liked his strength of character. Vee was basically a teddy bear. He never seemed to learn from his mistakes and his heart ruled his head most of the time, but he was overall such a sweetheart. He kind of liked to play the bad boy, but he obviously wasn't and he had a nobility to him that I found endearing. I liked how Bar and Kan to a lesser extent were the only two of Vee's friend group who were actually supportive of he and Mark together. Bar as Vee's best friend was featured more prominently and it was refreshing to have someone who actually seemed to have Vee's best interests at heart and was a kind and sympathetic friend. Unlike Vee's other friends who constantly razzed him and got in his business, Bar was the quiet voice of reason and someone Vee could actually trust. I really enjoyed their friendship. Yoo had some great moments as Vee's brother. He had some very entertaining one liners, but he was also a voice of reason for Vee, trying to shake him out of his stupors after yet another misunderstanding with Mark. He acted very much like I imagine a big brother would in the situations he found himself. I liked that Mark found a second home and a second set of parents at Vee's home. Vee's mother especially was wonderful, just warm and sweet and understanding. She immediately took Mark in without question, loving him and taking care of him like he was her own. Vee's father was not demonstrative in his affections, but I really liked him. His tidbits of wisdom, like the one he bestowed on Vee regarding his motorbike, were a subtle display of affection and a way to prepare his son for the world. His defense of Mark and his family from Mark's own father was a great scene as was the one shortly thereafter when he has a one on one conversation with Mark's father. Mark's mother was also very sweet in her own way and I liked her quietly momma bear ways. She was certainly more moderate than Mark's father and it was clear that she loved her son and only wanted what was best for him.

The majority of Vee's and Mark's friends were overwhelmingly annoying. Everything with them felt like a cliché from their entire friend group being gay except for Yihwa who filled the gap of the female straight friend to their over the top antics. Mark's father came across as a very unpleasant person initially, I truly wondered how he and his wife ever got together, but after speaking with Vee's father and revealing a bit more of his concerns, he became much more understandable character. I still would have liked to have a bit more information on him and what exactly made him tick, not to mention an actual conversation between him and his son where they came to some kind of understanding, but I liked that he was given some depth and wasn't a raging asshole for no reason.

Yin and War are the standouts in terms of acting. They both expressed their characters so well and seemed to have a real understanding of them. Their chemistry was one of the few high points of the series. They were just phenomenal together and had a real connection that translated very well to the screen. It's a pity that everything else didn't reach their level.

The production was overall pretty decent. I really liked some of the cinematography, there were some great shots and angles in there. The music was another highlight. Aside from one or two tracks that I wasn't hugely fond of, the rest of it worked very well.

This is one drama where I wish I'd read some of the reviews beforehand to have a better idea of what to expect. I don't think I would have been quite as disappointed in it if I had. I'm not going to say that it's a drama to avoid. It has it's redeeming features, though not many. I think in the end, I would say it's worth watching once. It's not one that's worth watching more than once though. Then again I'm not a fan of that level of angst and miscommunication and drama, so I'll leave repeated viewings to your discretion.

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Same old story,yet so new!

My first thought about this was "why the heck they decided a remake of this one?And with the same actors?Nah!Im not gonna watch it!"

But i did watch it.And Surprise!I liked it.A lot!It was fresh and light and fluffy and sweet and...I don't have to apologize to anyone!I liked it!Lol!
Nothing new.Same good Bl University recipe.Cute characters.Angst.Jealousy.Same old good misunderstandings.The annoying girlfriend too.
So do not expect to watch anything you haven't already seen in the vast sea of BL World.
At first i was sceptical because of the length of each episode.Hourly eps are like a double blade knife.
Either you get bored easily,or you can't get enough of it.And the fact that i had to wait 2 days for the last episode to be translated, made me angry!


If you have already seen the old version iam sure you have definitely noticed the huge improvement and development in our MLs acting skills.I was amazed.I didn't expect this.From the awkward stiff and annoying acting to natural playful and enjoyable performances in this one.I felt like a proud mom bragging about her kids!!
Well done Yin & War! Susu Na!


There is no need to analyze it further.Tbh,theres not much to talk about.Simple story.Handsome actors.Many butterflies 🦋 in stomach too.Thats all you need.

And not forget to mention their shower scene and that kiss!Easily one of the best kisses of 2022 in Bls!
For this alone you must stop reading this and go watch it!

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i wasnt going to write a review- simple/short spoiler free

i watched the 5 ep ones before i watched this and i have to say they did a great job
yinwar acting got so much better compared to the older one despite everything that happens in the eps i really did enjoy both vee and mark character even though there were times i wanted to kill vee.

music was a lot better the comedy aspect of the series was actually funny and not forced. the plots still good it gets a bit repetitive but honestly the chemistry is so good that i didnt really care they started the series strong and ended strong i look forward to more dramas they will do either together or alone.

very re-watchable give me like a month until its out of my system id come back to watch it again
im sad that i didnt get into this earlier( started at 8 eps) i highly regret it and will miss it very much.

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Just because the acting iis amazing doesn't mean the drama is also ...

I find it hard to believe that its so freaking high in rating... like how ? I guess simple answer is people don't really consider cheating as morally wrong... mark as a character was too good to be true ( a.k.a. doormat ) and vee was just too good to be cheater ( p.s . he was a cheater but the show maker doesn't consider that as cheating). Bet on my money , if mark vee was a real couple..vee would have definitely cheated in the future.
Ways to waste my time ...

I hope people giving 10 outta 10 are not really accepting this behaviour from their partners in real life ? ......
Must say ... the acting was literally very good.... but the script was probably done under 10mins :(

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Angsty, but in a good way

The main plot idea is the same as in the shorter version of the series, but I think that it was much better executed. Why? Because we were given time for relationships to develop nicely, we were given the necessary backstories and side stories to fully understand what happened, how it happened and why it happened.

Vee & Mark: Their one night stand still doesn’t sit well with me, but I expected that is not something that will change from the mini series to this one as it was a major plot point. However, I am really glad that they showed that Mark was not okay with what happened in more detail. The scene in which he is scrubbing his body clean really shows that. It might not have been addressed out loud, but it was at least hinted at. I think the series really showed us how much Vee struggled with his feelings and between what is wrong and right in his mind when it comes to him double timing Mark and Ploy. He loved Ploy and having her is something that he got used to, it became normal for him. So, when Mark crashed into his life, it threw him off. It also showed how he felt unworthy of both of them. Could he have handled it better? Yes. Did I expect him to? No. One thing that really upset me was Vee’s complete lack of respect and trust in Mark. This was shown on multiple occasions, and it made me want to shake some sense into him. To be honest, Mark did intentionally hurt Vee, but I think Vee’s words have cut deeper. Especially because Mark was already doubting himself and his relationship with Vee.

If there is one thing this series really delivered, it was rejections. There are a few major rejection scenes done throughout the series and they were all done perfectly. There is no false hope given, and the characters are very assertive about it. And honest. And while Bar rejecting Mark does come across as a bit harsh, it was what Mark needed. He was too hung up on the idea of dating Bar that a simple no wasn’t going to cut it.

I really like Vee’s friend group. Yiwaa is a star, the boys definitely know who is in charge. She runs the show, but it is not overdone to the point of it being annoying. She is the kind of friend that can keep a secret but will also forever tease you for it. Nuea is a sweetheart, he cares about everyone more than he does about himself. He is also very mature. Bar can be a bit of an idiot at times, but he is head over heels for his boyfriend Kan. Kan is another favorite of mine. He’s a cutie with a soft heart. And he knows how to keep a secret too.

It was an improvement from the short series. Yin and War have an amazing chemistry and I really love seeing the two together. I think we can agree that War is an absolute cutie!

The series is full of angst and drama. Which is probably not for everyone. But I actually quite enjoyed the series. Even if I wanted to shake some sense in pretty much everyone at one point or the other. It addressed some issues relating to homophobia and social class differences, which were all very well incorporated into the story.  

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