23.5 (2024)

Nice first try, lovey-dovey, but boring and with many mistakes

Caution: a very, very long review with, unfortunately, a lot of criticism.

As a normal series I would give it a 4 or 3 out of 10, but as in Thai BL-GL industry series I would give it a 6 or 7 out of 10. Frankly, I wouldn't dare give it less because I SERIOUSLY want more GL's to be made, I seriously want industries to know that there is enough audience to start GL's. But that doesn't mean it's okay to accept anything without any criticism. I find it really a shame, but often the first products of something are generally bad. Not to mention the first GMMTV BL's, which were, and I'm sorry, trash. So, don't get me wrong: if we compare this with Love Sick, 23.5 is pretty a masterpiece.

Things I liked: The color palette, View as Aylin (although I didn't really like how the subject was handled) and the acting of Milk and Love. Milk and Love's performances are incredible, they really shined. I particularly liked that Sun has a very thick accent, a way of speaking that Love created for Sun's character (that's great!) Milk is not far behind, her dramatic scenes (both comical and sad) could really produce feelings in the viewer. She took the center stage and never let it go. Milk and Love have my full support. But I think that is all. Sorry, I have a complaint to every element of this series.

Things I didn't like:

I didn't like the camera direction and the pacing. Too slow for so little story being told. I really don't understand why they didn't use the most used and obvious resource to show the passage of time, which is to record several takes in different spaces and with different costumes in different contexts. The series lacks the "show the passage of time" factor. Why is this important? Because it not only shows the quantity of time, but also the time they have to known each other. Although the viewer would feel that Ongsa and Sun had only known each other for 3 weeks, suddenly Sun was blindly in love with Earth (same with Ongsa, ngl). On the other hand, the Aylin - Luna couple, although they are cute and their lovey dovey scenes are adorable, I felt like they hardly knew each other until they "fell in love" as deeply as they did. They practically didn't even take the time to get to know each other. From my point of view, everything that happened in the series could have easily happened in 2 months, and it's supposed to have been just under a year.

The chemistry between Love and Milk was lacking, I felt like they had more chemistry when they were Ink and Pa in BB than here. But I don't rreally blame them, maybe it was the script. As the series progressed, I also felt some discomfort seeing them together. Like I know I have to feel like they have chemistry, but I can't feel it, which is frustrating.

The radical change in pacing between EP 1 and the rest of the episodes is dramatic and a terrible move. The first episode was incredibly dynamic, loaded with jokes, a hilarious Ongsa and loaded with action. However, that episode is behind us and the pace slows to the point that it produces a yawn. Why did they give so much emphasis to Tinh and Chaoren in the first episodes if they were then completely forgotten in the others eps? Why this change?

GOD the infinite shots. They could record just a character's face without any expression for 10 seconds. What does this say to me as a whole? That they had no more story to tell but they had to reach 45 minutes per episode. That's so frustrating. It's like stretching out flavorless gum until it becomes a thread.

It lacks a soundtrack. Scenes without any background music + a story in which essentially nothing happens couldn't be a worse combination. The lack of dynamism could have been compensated with a strong soundtrack to enhance the scenes. But long, boring scenes, no story, MORE silence? It is a combination that induces drowsiness. (Also, too many comical sound effects that after insisting stopped being funny)


Although P'Ton was the character that I liked the most (not saying much, because neither character was developed enough for me to be interested in any of them), or rather the one that made me laugh the most because he is extravagant, his time in screen with Mawin was a mistake. God, why so many scenes of them that led to absolutely nothing? Do you know how terrible, how frustrating, how annoying it was when MAWIN interrupted Aylin in her confession? God, what is he doing there and why did he interrupt her? Why is he on the scene? I repeat, the importance they gave to his character along with PTon's was a complete mistake. Having cut out all the time the pair takes up on screen, easily could have put in the scenes of Aylin Luna getting to know each other.

Something that was mentioned a lot on Twitter, and it's true, is that Sun seems like a secondary character. She seems to be as secondary as Aylin or Luna or P'ton. We don't know anything about her and until episode 10 she had no dreams or flaws at all. She was perfect the entire series. She wasn't a real person. Ongsa, although a little more faceted, we don't know much about her either. We know that she likes dogs, likes astronomy and that she has social problems (and that she is extremely coward). And that's it. The only characters who have distinctive traits (things we know they like) are Chaoren and Aylin. Luna? We know nothing, absolutely nothing about Luna. We know more about Alpha than Luna, and Luna is part of the secondary couple.

Wasn't Sun the most popular girl in school? Why does she seem like just another ordinary girl? Why on her birthday did no one but the protagonists say happy birthday to her and only a few went home to celebrate if she is supposed to be popular? Why does Ongsa have so many social problems? What was her life like before moving? Why did she move out suddenly? What was her relationship with her parents? Why does it seem like she barely knows her mother and is there a latent discomfort in all of her scenes? Are they blood family or are she and Alpha half-sisters? There couldn't be less chemistry between her and her parents. Through the screen, it is as if she has been living abroad and only in the recent year has she returned home. There is no family dynamic or chemistry, they are characters that were created, completely artificial and empty, placed in EP 1 to conform a family.

That's what this series is: hollow. It is somewhat hollow. Not completely, but enough to make it frustrating to watch the series.

Is really no one, no one going to mention the hair color change in Luna's hair? In a single episode, she had light brown hair in some scenes and dark brown hair in others. GOD, why haven't I seen anyone mention that blunder? Why they did that? I can let it go (although it bothers me) the change in haircut or hairstyle (particularly in men) because it is a mistake that its made in almost every series. But the hair color, really?

Do you know why I criticized the series so strongly, even though I waited for it to come to an end? Because I was waiting for this since 2022, and because the news that it was the first GL from GMMTV, the largest BL's company in the world, was exciting news. But here we are. And I'm so, so sad. I really wanted to love this show.

Nice try, really. although I am currently very frustrated, I appreciate all the love put into the series. Thank you very much for finally taking into account the GL's.

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This high school GL drama was a sweet little romance with so many lovable characters to get attached to. But perhaps a merged or cut storyline could've allowed the much needed foreshadowing of character flaws that were relevant to the drama's climax. I also found that the lack of addressing of 2 red flags (one from each of our main characters) killed my investment into their particular ending.

SPOILERS START HERE!!!

>>> Ongsa and Sun <<<

I absolutely loved the initial set up for this couple. Ongsa is an insecure, anxious, and socially awkward teen from the countryside. Sun, is the popular (though we really don't see this really), confident, and mature classmate who Ongsa instantly develops a crush on. They accidentally become penpals and Ongsa anxiously lies when it starts coming time for them to actually disclose stuff like names and such. This arc didn't overstay its welcome in my opinion (but Aladdin's the genie "Tell her the truth" scene certainly played in my head on repeat). I was also quite taken by how maturely Sun handled this. Demanding an explanation and refusing the nonstop stream of unexplained apologies. Most love interests would have stormed out, and the lack of communication would have been dragged out for days/episodes. Not here.

By the end of the drama, we start to realize that Sun isn't the perfect, one-dimensional love interest previously portrayed. While her dream is repeated rather verbatim in a short span of time, she does have a dream that she is passionate about and knows where her future is going. She also is not quite at the maturity generally presumed around her. Indeed, much like most teenagers, that "maturity" is partially covering up the fact that Sun molds herself and her reactions to what she thinks is expected of her. Which, of course, causes problems in her relationship with Ongsa - especially since Ongsa is also not thinking as a unit (most high schoolers/first relationship couples dont) and makes the unanimous decision that Ongsa and Sun shouldn't be out to anyone but their shared friend group. This was frustrating, and i feel like Sun's character flaw could've been better hinted at earlier in the series, but overall, quite true to a high school first romance.

What did make me angry is the fact that both Sun and Ongsa did incredibly red flag things that were never really addressed well. Sun literally outed Ongsa, Aylin, and Luna. She outed Ongsa once to her (Sun's) parents without warning, and then again (along with Aylin and Luna) to Ongsa's own parents despite/in spite of Ongsa's attempts to stop her. This wasn't even addressed once, let alone condemned. Being out very obviously means something in the world of this drama, and Sun couldn't have known what Ongsa's parents' reactions would've been. And then, after their break up, Ongsa wouldn't leave Sun alone. This was brought up once, but then was swiftly ignored when Ongsa came with a more detailed apology (that I sorely hope was victim to something being lost in translation, because i didn't like how it compared their love for each other as one being more true than the other just bc Ongsa was scared to be out of the closet).

I am, however, glad that Sun realized that she was being hypocritical and unfair though, especially since she was molding herself to what she thought Ongsa wanted in their relationship, instead of talking to her. And so, i appreciate that they became a more healthy and stable relationship afterwards. Though, admittedly, my enjoyment of them as a couple was killed by their red flag actions that weren't properly addressed. So, I wasn't really invested in their ending.

>>>Aylin and Luna<<<

An absolutely adorable 2nd couple. I loved how honest Aylin was, even when she was nervous, in pursuing Luna (after Luna showed her she could trust her). And i loved the relationship between Aylin and Ongsa (her cousin). Aylin and Luna were a healthy couple pretty much from the beginning (with the hiccup of pushing Aylin into socialization too fast), and I don't think i stopped smiling for a moment when they were on screen together. And Aylin's neurodivergent (potentially autistic?) coding was great to see - especially with her lack of social cue awareness, her needing clear answers to social questions, and her displays of overstimulation that can be seen even in the background of other scenes. However, my one complaint is probably that Luna, as cute and lovable as she is, didn't really have a character flaw in sight.

>>>Alpha<<<

Alpha is Ongsa's older sister and Aylin's older cousin. On one hand, i loved that her presence helped contribute to Ongsa's family relationship development (she and her father had lived separately from her mother and sister for several years). Her scenes with Ongsa and Aylin were sweet. And i really related to her pre-graduation stress of uncertainty in her future and in her family relationships. But, she really didn't have much of an impactful role. So perhaps this was a storyline that could've been omitted or perhaps merged with Luna's (perhaps to balance out Luna's perfection) since they share similar traits and are in the same year together.

>>>The Friend Group<<<

I really value the focus on Ongsa's growing friend group, as it really helped her develop as a character and in her confidence - not having any friends coming into school and all. They're supportive, distinct, eclectic, quirky, and diverse. It made for the perfect complement to Ongsa's story and needs. There was also some comedic relief in there I really appreciated.

>>>Teachers Bambam and Nida<<<

These characters stole my heart. I loved their low-angst side story of the hapless accident-prone and tarot-loving Bambam and of her caretaking friend who developed feelings. Furthermore, I liked how they provided advice to their students when needed, and also stepped away so the major characters can figure things out on their own. And of course, they helped to drive the story forward at a few places, in believable way that never made me blink twice.

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