This review may contain spoilers
A Truly Lovely BL Among College Friends
This is a BL that emphasizes romantic love equally with the love that comes with great friends. There is little plot to speak of, but each episode is just a feel-good time. At the end of each episode, I kept wishing my college experience was similar to these kids and had romantic entanglements that were as healthy and nice as theirs were on screen. They had 4 BL couples, a record as far as I am aware. The show heavily focused on 2 of them, a 3rd one getting some good air time but honestly not enough, and the 4th one didn't come together until the last episode.
The couples? Phum & Peem (actors: Pond & Phuwin), Q & Toey (Winny & Satang), Fang and Tan (Boom and Aou), and the last one is Chain & Pun (Marc & Poon).
For me, this show's real stand-out actor and character was Toey, played by Satang. He played the energetic underclassman to perfection. He was so adorable, kind of innocent, and mischievous at the same time. I loved every minute of him on screen. When Toey and Q finally get together, it is truly adorable. Winny & Satang were good in My School President, but they were even better in We Are. The series spent a lot of time on Toey trying to get Q to admit his feelings through a series of hair-brained schemes of getting Q jealous so he'd finally do something.
Tan was just....he was over the top with golden retriever energy. Fang was a reserved statue. BUT this is a great example of opposites attracting and balancing each other out. While Fang doesn't express his love for Tan frequently, the camera always shows us how Fang takes notice of Tan, of his actions and behaviors, and shows his affection through smaller acts of kindness. There is one scene in particular that shows Fang talking to Tan because he feels upset and isolated. Fang just needs to unload, and Tan goes from being a goofball to being a serious supporter and confidant. It is a small but truly beautiful scene.
Then there is the arguable main couple with the two most prominent lead actors. Phum and Peem were less interesting to me than Q & Toey or even Fang and Tan. But again, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing at Peem and Phum. Phum has this hard exterior, but he is often holding a stuffed animal when he's alone at home. Phum has a strained relationship with his father and felt abandoned when he was younger, so he has this harder exterior. But in the end, Phum is very soft on the inside. Peem doesn't want to fall for this "buffalo" but can't help it. I kind of wish they would get together sooner, but there really wasn't much of a barrier between the two of them. Peem was just reluctant to admit his feelings and get romantic with Phum for unknown reasons.
Now, the friend group of all of them, plus Toey's friend Matthew (played by JJ Jutamas, one of the twins at GMMTV) and Beer (Phum's best friend), was also really something to watch. Halfway through the series, Peem says how grateful he is to have them as his friends and that he loves them. When Peem is having a hard time or is disappointed, his friends show up at his bedroom door to hang out and watch a movie. Peem has a wonderful aunt and two loving parents, but he has his own chosen family that loves him like they would a brother. What I appreciated about this element the most is that BLs often take any emotional connection between characters and build it into a romantic plot. This is a BL that greatly emphasizes platonic love between friends just as much as the romantic and sexual love that comes with one's special someone.
Did the series need 16 episodes? Probably not, but I loved each one. I am sad to see the series over, even though it is longer than many BL series. It lacked the drama and breakups that come with your typical BL. This was a light-hearted good time from start to finish.
The couples? Phum & Peem (actors: Pond & Phuwin), Q & Toey (Winny & Satang), Fang and Tan (Boom and Aou), and the last one is Chain & Pun (Marc & Poon).
For me, this show's real stand-out actor and character was Toey, played by Satang. He played the energetic underclassman to perfection. He was so adorable, kind of innocent, and mischievous at the same time. I loved every minute of him on screen. When Toey and Q finally get together, it is truly adorable. Winny & Satang were good in My School President, but they were even better in We Are. The series spent a lot of time on Toey trying to get Q to admit his feelings through a series of hair-brained schemes of getting Q jealous so he'd finally do something.
Tan was just....he was over the top with golden retriever energy. Fang was a reserved statue. BUT this is a great example of opposites attracting and balancing each other out. While Fang doesn't express his love for Tan frequently, the camera always shows us how Fang takes notice of Tan, of his actions and behaviors, and shows his affection through smaller acts of kindness. There is one scene in particular that shows Fang talking to Tan because he feels upset and isolated. Fang just needs to unload, and Tan goes from being a goofball to being a serious supporter and confidant. It is a small but truly beautiful scene.
Then there is the arguable main couple with the two most prominent lead actors. Phum and Peem were less interesting to me than Q & Toey or even Fang and Tan. But again, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing at Peem and Phum. Phum has this hard exterior, but he is often holding a stuffed animal when he's alone at home. Phum has a strained relationship with his father and felt abandoned when he was younger, so he has this harder exterior. But in the end, Phum is very soft on the inside. Peem doesn't want to fall for this "buffalo" but can't help it. I kind of wish they would get together sooner, but there really wasn't much of a barrier between the two of them. Peem was just reluctant to admit his feelings and get romantic with Phum for unknown reasons.
Now, the friend group of all of them, plus Toey's friend Matthew (played by JJ Jutamas, one of the twins at GMMTV) and Beer (Phum's best friend), was also really something to watch. Halfway through the series, Peem says how grateful he is to have them as his friends and that he loves them. When Peem is having a hard time or is disappointed, his friends show up at his bedroom door to hang out and watch a movie. Peem has a wonderful aunt and two loving parents, but he has his own chosen family that loves him like they would a brother. What I appreciated about this element the most is that BLs often take any emotional connection between characters and build it into a romantic plot. This is a BL that greatly emphasizes platonic love between friends just as much as the romantic and sexual love that comes with one's special someone.
Did the series need 16 episodes? Probably not, but I loved each one. I am sad to see the series over, even though it is longer than many BL series. It lacked the drama and breakups that come with your typical BL. This was a light-hearted good time from start to finish.
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