Fish Upon the Sky (2021)

Much, much better than I expected

Sometimes, something just defies your expectations and this series did that for me.

Because, being honest, this is another BL series set in a university with white shirts and black trousers and grown adults acting like they never heard of sex; and fundraising fairs and camping out visiting impoverished areas; and medical students and engineering students and freshmen with ties; and scooters and high end cars and huge houses that you would swear should have at least four bedrooms, but only seem to have one or two; and let's not forget the male character with darker skin (because colourism) with the high pitched voice and the limp wrists who ships the ML's.

This is, almost beat for beat, the same plot as every other Thai BL. All the stereotypes are here, all the clichés and tropes are here.

Except.....there's some differences.

The attitude of one of the MLs to the toxic and dangerous behaviour of the shippers, their page and their 'fans' is refreshing. Pi bluntly declares he feels unsafe with the way Mork keeps encouraging said behaviour in his attempts to woo Pi. And well he should, because these 'fans' not only butt into Pi's life, but drag his brother, his mother and his father into it and even threaten to invade his home to take pictures of his bedroom!

At one point, someone starts filming them without permission, and posting it online. At another, someone else has clearly been stalking them because pictures get posted of Pi standing on the balcony of his house.

This series comes down hard, and not even subtly, on the invasive and toxic social media culture that seems to permeate much of the world nowadays.

Pi breaks my heart several times during this series. He's a truly sweet, kind and caring young man who does not deserve the bullying. I can't help feeling that Mork should have opened his mouth and stood up for Pi a lot earlier. I also think that if Mork had given Pi that umbrella, then maybe things would have proceeded differently as well.

Differently, but for the better? Who knows? ::shrug::

I also liked the fact that Mork has pictures of Pi on his phone before his 'makeover' and that he liked him just as he was before Duen and his friends got involved. It would have been so refreshing to see Pi stay that way, but gain confidence as his relationship with Mork grew and let that confidence make him more attractive, rather than going for the 'ditch the glasses, get ride of the braces, fix the hair' kind of makeover that was used.

I really liked Bam. I thought she was cute and bubbly and fun and supportive of Mork....and then they had to ruin it with the stunt she pulled at Mork's birthday party. Why? Just why? It completely ruined her character for me. For god's sake, please stop doing this!

I also liked Muang Nan. Whilst it was clear he didn't like Pi the way Pi wanted him to, he wasn't cruel about it and he kept subtly pushing Pi towards Mork. He also had some good advice for Mork, which Mork should have taken. The cheeky reference to Mix's series 'Tale of a Thousand Stars' was amusing.

This even gave me pause when it came to my favourite pairing. A lot of times, in BL, I'll find myself preferring the secondary couple over the main couple, but here I found myself cheering for both of them. Duen is a great brother and a genuinely funny and likable character. His character grew over the course of the twelve episodes and I loved his fourth-wall breaking.

Meen is a complete cinnamon roll without, thank goodness, the childishness that often goes along with that kind of character in Thai BL He's a bit child-like, but not childish. He stands up for himself and tells Duen exactly what he thinks and feels and doesn't let Duen get away with shit. I approve.

The acting in this is good, especially by Pond, Phuwin and Neo. The editing is also good. The daft sound effects are still there, but are considerably toned down (thank goodness) and the product placement is still very obvious but also toned down considerably.

The only negative, really, is the scene with Duen dressed up as what I assume to be his idea of an Indian holy man. I didn't notice it until someone from that culture pointed it out and talked about how uncomfortable it made them, and I can completely understand why. it was only a brief scene, but it shouldn't have been there.

Also (and this is not a negative) I was confused by the ending. It supposedly takes place 2 years later, but how had Meen not seen Duen and Pi's room at this point? And have Pi and Mork just been abstaining from sex this whole time? It was just....baffling. Although the scene itself was very funny.

I really enjoyed this series overall, and I'm happy to recommend it and, since I'm re-watching it whilst I'm typing up this review, I state without hesitation that it has high re-watch value too.

Leggi di Più

Worth it for the cast chemistry

I think Fish Upon the Sky is an easily digestible BL to get through because of the cast chemistry. Both Phuwin/Pond and Neo/Louis pairings look great together and are played wonderfully. And because all four of these characters are completely different, the pairings almost feel like you're watching two completely different shows when the stories aren't interconnecting (which they rarely do for majority of the show). That's probably why Duean and Meen's stories were told with a different aspect ratio but that honestly came off as an afterthought during editing. Some of those shots were an eyesore. But despite that, I still enjoyed their storyline a lot. I actually liked it more than the main plot.

While the panicked gay vs confident gay trope never gets old, the forced conflict trope does. Pi/Mork just couldn't get their act together until the very end because of issues that I wasn't buying. Pi was hung up on Mueang Nan for way too long for merely existing. Nan never showed as much interest in Pi as Mork did, or interacted with him as much as Mork had; yet, Pi was still rejecting Mork because he couldn't get over Nan. If Pi was meant to spend so long having feelings for Mueang Nan, I wish the dilemma would have been written in a more believable way. His obsession with Mueang Nan was creepy if not completely nonsensical.

Duean and Meen's development was written with a lot more nuance. Duean starts off as a jerk but as the episodes go on, he becomes gradually more tolerable. I loved their slow burn romance that always seemed to hit the right checkpoints. Duean becomes a better person and Meen learns to not be a pushover. They really bettered themselves because of each other. It's unfortunate that Neo was forced to play him so off balance with the rest of the cast. Duean is a 4th wall-breaking character so he never gets a chance to be really vulnerable during a scene that had potential to be really emotional. Every time he apologizes to Meen, it feels goofy and it lacks the drama that Pi/Mork's journey had.

And Pi/Mork's relationship feels very rewarding in the final episode. I LOOOOOVE how natural Phuwin/Pond look onscreen together as a couple. Other dramas should take notes; Pi and Mork kissed more than once. It's crazy that I am genuinely astonished by more than one kiss in a Thai BL episode.

Fish Upon the Sky is not a must-watch but it is far from unwatchable.

Leggi di Più

Such a cute thai bl series!

This is so cute to watch tho! Mork and Pi are so cute together even tho some people don't really kinda like them as a couple. This series is not flopping and not good nor bad, it just giving us happy vibes when watching this XD.... although there are some cringe moment for me, ain't gonna lie but it still good to watch. The story definitely kinda cliché... I don't know I still want this to watch hahahahah... Not the best series so far but a good one to watch to if you just wanted to watch some light and sweet bl drama.

The ost definitely a banger hahahahahah I'm literally Loving it the english one and the thai

Acting: hmmmmm it's not that bad but 8.5/10 for me

The rewatch value for me is 5.5/10

Leggi di Più

Dramatic, 0 chemistry

This series is overrated. Too dramatic and cringe sound effects. Also, there is no chemistry between Mork and Pi. The romantic scene brings no feeling to me at all. Like watching a boring and cringe drama. The story line seems to be weird and dreaded. The only interesting part is Meen and Duwen. I feel some chemistry between them, better than those main characters. This series is more like a comedy than bl... Plus, too many not really funny scenes make it so cringed. Not worth watching compared to other series even though i really like Mork and Pi as good actors. Worst and disappointing.

Leggi di Più

Fish Upon the Sky

For a comedy drama, I laughed a lot and thought that this lighthearted drama was a fun escape on Friday mornings when it aired for me. It was nice to have something lighthearted to watch that wasn't so intense like A Thousand Stars. That drama had me crying at some points, so this drama made me laugh and kept things lighthearted indead.

I think Phuwin is still quite young and developing his acting skills. He wasn't bad, but still needs a little polishing. And I would say the same for Pond. I think this was his first series and he also needs a little more work. However, it wasn't bad to the point that it was distracting or anything. Not like the acting in Lovesick. (Does anyone remember that one? It was good at the time for what it was, but the acting was very spotty).

I know this is a comedy, but I do always question plotlines where everyone turns gay. It just seems improbable to me that all 3 brothers, and two brothers are gay, and that two sets of brothers fall for each other's brother. That kind of silliness is well plain silly. lol. I would have much liked to have some diversity. Again, I get that it's a comedy so that's probably why it was written this way.

My favorite scene, and one that I still remember vividly, was when they went to the cadaver lab at night and the lights turned on and off and their positions changed.

I hope they get another drama together and that they continue to hone in their acting skills. Very promising actors for sure!

Leggi di Più

"As for me, you are a fish upon the sky too"

That's the most memorable line of this refreshing series.
To start off, this series is really great in terms of educational purposes. Be it regarding LGBT, mental health, basic knowledge, etc, it reaches to educate others on certain topics while keeping the storyline, which is something not many BLs can do.
The plot is really good on its own. The way the series is directed also allows viewers to have a breather when the main couple has an argument. However nearing the last 2 episodes, it's like someone deflated the good tire and it turned out to be slightly boring, which was quite a turn off.
The cast is amazing! The power of 00s and onwards. :)
OSTs are not really vibe-able to other than Mix's.
Rewatch value, I wouldn't watch it again just because it's not really the show that captivates me a lot.

Leggi di Più

Fish Upon the Sky is one of my favourite series in 2021. I love the story, cast, music and everything about this series. Phuwin potrayed his character well like when he has crush on Nan or his worry about his relationship with Mork which is true because since his childhood he got bullied and got stalked by those fujoshis and people insulted him just because they don't like Pi to be with Mork plus he doesn't have any friends to talk/share with(it's not even his mistake he just doesn't want to change himself) they judge him by his looks. ( I think he doesn't look that bad in those glasses, he looks cute).

I love Meen and Duean interaction, Meen is sooo... Cute the way he says "duean" ♥♥♥ and the Ost he sang is really good. One of favourite scene in this series is when Duean comes to Mork/Meens home, after knowing that Mark is Meens borther, Duean completely changes his attitude towards Mork .

I like the words/dialogues Mork said to Pi. I like all episodes except final episode where some images of Pi are posted on internet by Bam. (Its just my opinion)
But overall It is really good...... I am gonna watch the series again today

Leggi di Più

Typical. But funny and enjoyable

I expected FUTS to be rather mediocre but ended up positively surprised. It wasn’t anything earth-shattering but it was better than the average Thai BL. The story was a typical university-setting but with some nice and surprisingly enjoyable moments.

I liked Pi a lot. He was a well-written and well-acted character (Phuwin did a great job). He had depth and his concerns and anxieties were legitimate and believable. His insecurities had a reason to be and the way he explained them made sense. As someone who was bullied in school I could definitely relate. Mork on the other hand didn’t have as much depth and was written as a rather typically perfect fantasy-boyfriend. I wish they’d given him some palpable faults but alas, haha. I still liked him though. All in all, their story wasn’t anything special but I still enjoyed it a lot.

For me, the show absolutely nailed the comedy. The comedic timing was great and the series had a lot of lovable characters (Duean and his crazy gang of friends!) I savored every second Duean was on screen and especially his screen time with Pi. Their brotherly shenanigans and relationship was great! It felt very natural and their family actually seemed like a real family. When the eldest brother came home and they had dinner and afterwards talked in their room. I loved those scenes. Oh and how could I forget Meen? Such a breath of fresh air! He had a unique personality that meshed well with Dueans. He was cute but bold, seemed a little shy but also confident. Truly a wonderful character!

I can’t say much about Pi and Morks relationship bc it wasn’t really anything special. It was cute but the drama was predictable in a way. What I did like was the fact that Mork wasn’t the only one trying to kiss Pi. Pi openly expressed his desire to kiss Mork too and that was so nice! I’m a little tired of all these “typical uke/mia” characters who never want to kiss their partners, even after they’ve been together for years lol.
I want to say that the show did surprise me when it decided to put some serious drama into episode 8. Usually you see Thai BL overburdening their last two episodes with all the crazy drama and ruining the pacing in the process ;)
I was actually excited to seem them correctly build up the drama and let it have time to resolve itself in a natural, non-forced way. What I didn’t expect though, was that they straight up ruined it by introducing another big (and unnecessary) drama in the last 35 minutes of the final episode lol It was a very strange move bc that specific conflict didn’t make sense and needed to be resolved pretty forcefully, not giving it enough time to ebb down naturally.
Not to mention that I really thought we were slowly getting past the trend of villainizing female characters in BL but I guess not -_-

I was also pretty annoyed by the inclusion of super crazy fujoshis/fudanshis. They weren’t really necessary for the story and were mainly used as comedic relief in a story that already has plenty of good comedy (come on, we have Duean and the gang!) Not to mention that I personally didn’t really find their scenes that funny. At this point Fujoshi and femme gay or trans people have become a synonym for a personality trait. I hope this changes soon.

Leggi di Più

Divertissant, mais vu et revu (et mal joué)

Le problème avec les dramas romantiques (et le BL n'y fait pas exception, loin de là), c'est qu'ils réutilisent très souvent les mêmes clichés, les mêmes rebondissements et les mêmes ficelles. Lorsque certains sortent presque simultanément (comme Fish Upon the Sky et à peine 5 semaines plus tard, un autre BL intitulé Nitiman) et parlent du même sujet, on finit par s'emmêler les pinceaux. Et quand ils sont diffusés le même jour, c'est encore pire.

Nous avons donc Jin (pardon Pi) qui est amoureux d'un garçon parce que... bah juste parce qu'il le trouve joli vu qu'il ne le connaît pas, et qui se retrouve dans un apparent triangle amoureux où il est en rivalité avec Bbomb (pardon Mork) qui est secrètement amoureux de lui et donc pas du tout son rival comme il le pensait. S'ensuivent les scènes et rebondissements habituels, avec le couple de paparazzis étudiants formé par un gros gay efféminé caricatural et sa copine tout aussi langue de vipère, qui passent leur temps à espionner tout signe de rapprochement romantique entre nos héros et à poster leurs photos compromettantes en ligne, une paire stéréotypée qu'on retrouve pratiquement à l'identique dans Nitiman (je ne me souviens pas de leurs tronches respectives tellement ils sont interchangeables). Tout ceci dans un cadre universitaire vu et revu... Ah si pardon, une petite nouveauté, Pi étant dentiste et non pas ingénieur, on le voit s'exercer à la roulette dans les scènes de cours et non pas assis dans une salle de classe standard à copier sur les notes de son petit camarade studieux comme dans tout bon drama BL qui se respecte. A part ça, l'histoire manque sérieusement d'originalité, il y a pas mal de longueurs dont on se serait dispensés, et l'acteur principal devrait penser à changer de boulot.

Rien à dire sur le jeu de l'acteur qui interprète Mork, le rival. Le pauvre fait ce qu'il peut avec le scénario qu'il a, et il réussit à rester plus ou moins naturel... enfin c'est beaucoup dire, mais en tout cas il évite d'en faire des caisses. Les autres personnages sont presque tous une catastrophe, à commencer par Pi. Déjà à la base, son personnage est antipathique à souhait. Il est censé être attachant (et le devient un peu vers la fin), mais en vrai il est juste geignard. Il passe son temps à se plaindre d'être moche et d'avoir été la cible de harcèlement scolaire, ce qui en soi n'est pas dérangeant si c'est bien traité. Le harcèlement scolaire à l'égard de tous ceux qui ne correspondent pas aux normes est un sujet qu'on ne doit pas prendre à la légère, c'est bien que GMMTV ait fait le choix d'en parler et de montrer les répercussions psychologiques chez ceux qui en sont victimes, même quand ils ne le vivent plus au quotidien (manque de confiance en eux et envers les autres, peur que ça se reproduise, relations amoureuses parasitées par ces peurs...). Sauf qu'ici, d'une part on ne propose pas de solution (à part démerdez-vous, changez de tronche si vous y arrivez et sinon, espérez qu'un jour on vous aime pour ce que vous êtes... en gros, c'est aux harcelés de gérer, bravo et merci du conseil, ça va vachement aider les jeunes), et d'autre part, l'acteur principal joue tellement mal que son personnage en est irritant. Il pleurniche pour tout, se plaint sans arrêt, parle rarement gentiment, refuse de voir les bonnes intentions de son rival alors qu'elles sont évidentes (bon en même temps il faut bien faire durer les 12 épisodes...), et le pire dans tout ça c'est qu'il s'imagine que changer de tête va tout arranger, et évidemment ce n'est pas le cas, et c'est même une façon de penser bien toxique... et jamais remise en question. C'est dommage, parce que vers la fin on comprend mieux que s'il repousse un temps celui qui l'aime, ce n'est pas à cause de l'absence de sentiments, mais la crainte qu'il vive le même ostracisme que lui. Avec un jeu différent et tout en nuance ça serait passé mais cet acteur donne juste envie de secouer son personnage et de lui conseiller de grandir un peu au lieu de geindre après un mec qui ne l 'aime pas (alors qu'un mec génial l'attend.... on se demande bien ce que l'autre lui trouve, d'ailleurs).

Bref je ne vais pas l'enfoncer davantage, le matériau de base n'était pas génial de toute façon donc si l'acteur n'est déjà pas très bon, l'histoire ne risque pas de l'élever. Quant aux autres acteurs, c'est souvent raté, à part quelques exceptions. J'ai eu le plaisir de revoir l'acteur qui jouait le "rival amoureux" dans TonhonChonlatee, qui interprète ici le frère de Pi et qui a droit lui aussi à sa romance. Ben... je l'ai préféré dans TonhonChonlatee, c'est un comble. Autant sa romance est mignonne dans Fish Upon the Sky, autant l'acteur devrait prendre des cours de diction un de ces jours. Il ne parle pas, il beugle. On dirait un poissonnier, c'est pour dire (peut-être en rapport avec le titre, qui sait ?) Blague à part, je n'aime pas quand les acteurs sont censés prendre le ton de la comédie alors que la situation n'est pas spécialement drôle. Le jeu des Thaïs manque déjà de naturel au départ, donc ça ne sert à rien de les faire s'exciter et parler fort, c'est même typique des productions où personne ne sait jouer. J'étais par contre assez surprise par l'acteur qui interprète Meen, le naïf bien neuneu qui lui court après. Ce dernier a un personnage bien plus intéressant je trouve... Enfin là encore l'acteur fait ce qu'il peut avec le rôle débile qu'on lui a collé dans les pattes, mais certains brefs passages laissent entrevoir un certain potentiel. Notamment une scène de rêve où il se montre séducteur avec un autre personnage, l'occasion de changer de registre pendant 5 minutes et où l'on aperçoit une espèce de lueur au fond de ses yeux laissant supposer qu'il en a plus dans le ciboulot que ce qu'on nous montre à l'écran. Et le concernant, je salue pour une fois GMMTV qui aborde la notion de consentement de façon assez maline, son personnage utilisant l'argument de l'alcool qu'on veut le forcer à boire pour bien rappeler qu'un non est un non. Etant donné le passif de GMMTV dans le traitement de ces problématiques, il fallait le souligner. Et pour finir, nous avons quelques apparitions de Mix Sahaphap Wongratch (que nous avons pu voir dans 1000 Stars et qui interprète ici l'intérêt amoureux initial du héros), un acteur qui hélas semble incapable de montrer d'autres expressions faciales qu'un doux sourire ou quelques larmes à l'occasion (et encore, pour les larmes je me réfère à 1000 Stars, parce qu'ici on a juste droit au sourire) . On verra bien, s'il décroche des rôles plus conséquents son jeu sera peut-être plus varié à l'avenir.

Remarque personnelle en passant : les Asiatiques sont-ils tous de gros dégueus quand ils mangent au point que leur chéri doive systématiquement récupérer la patate qu'ils ont collée sur la joue pour la bouffer à leur tour ? J'en doute fort et ce cliché commence sérieusement à me fatiguer. Déjà quand je mange c'est rare que ça me coule sur le menton (hormis le Nutella que je m'enfile à la petite cuillère mais ça c'est un cas spécial) et ensuite, en général on se rend compte tout de suite quand on a un truc bizarre collé sur la peau, alors un coup de serviette et personne n'a rien vu. Et puis, vous vous souvenez de la pub où un ado accuse sa mère d'avoir craché dans son Yop ? Bah là c'est un peu pareil. C'est donc censé être romantique sauf que je trouve ça cradingue et qu'en plus, on y a droit dans (presque) tous les dramas (Sauf We Best Love, mais bon c'est We Best Love quoi). Bref, c'est dégueu et ça m'énerve. Et ne venez pas dire que vous ne faisiez pas la grimace quand votre mère utilisait sa salive sur son mouchoir pour vous laver la figure après votre passage dans le bac à sable, je n'y croirai pas (je parle à ceux qui sont nés avant la vente en masse des lingettes, ils en auront un vague souvenir).

J'ai failli oublier le passage qui m'a vraiment énervée, où une alliée retourne sa veste de façon complètement inattendue et surtout inutile juste pour permettre un dernier rebondissement au scénario, et qui dépeint une fois de plus une nana sous un jour sournois et manipulateur (parce que bon, c'est bien connu que les filles, on ne peut jamais leur faire confiance). Tiens, du coup maintenant que j'ai rajouté ça je vais corriger ma review et baisser ma note d'un demi-point, bien fait pour eux.

Enfin voilà, l'histoire n'est pas géniale mais pas désagréable non plus, je ne vois pas trop ce qu'on peut dire de plus, j'ai presque l'impression que mes soupirs et ma lassitude devant ce genre de production se sentent dans mon commentaire (j'avoue, j'ai mon menton posé dans une main tellement j'ai l'impression d'avoir la tête lourde), mais surtout que ça ne décourage pas les éventuels intéressé(e)s de le regarder. C'est assez mal joué, cliché et n'apporte rien de plus dans le paysage des BL Thaïs, mais c'est loin d'être une torture et ça passe le temps pour ceux qui veulent une histoire d'amour qui finisse bien, ça ne va pas chercher plus loin que ça. Sinon, on a suffisamment de choix en 2021 en matière de BL pour se permettre de passer à côté de celui-là, la décision vous appartient.

Leggi di Più

definitely fun, a little off the rails

This show is very funny, and sometimes I don't think it's necessarily funny in the way it's meant to be; it just is. The plot is a little all over the place at certain times, and some of the plot twists are vaguely disappointing, but the humor and actors are largely able to redeem the show, if only so I could giggle at the train wreck they were creating for themselves.

Overall, it's a cute show with a good cast. The plot is different from what I expected, especially initially, but does seem like it's trying too hard at times which leads to more serious moments having no impact. Additionally, I think the plot assumes a lot of development without actually developing the plot. It just hopes its done its job without actually doing it.

I don't know if I would watch this again, but it's got some cute moments which make it worth an initial go!

Leggi di Più

Cute intro Pond Phuwin but be warned about red flags!

I enjoyed the show for the almost crack like comedic elements incorporated into it but it could have definitely dialed up on the romance. Pond and Phuwin have great chemistry which is even more apparent on their latest show 'Never Let Me Go'. Their acting has also improved significantly but event in FUTS, you could see the potential that their pairing had. There were some cute moments and overall it was a wacky ride, but there were some definite red flags as far as characters went.

Mork's character was a giant red flag to me. He stepped all over Pi's boundaries on multiple occasions with the excuse that someone like Pi needs a push to make up his mind. However well meaning his intentions were, I really drew the line when he dragged the shippers into the picture and tried to force Pi to accept his love. That really pissed me off. He never fully understood Pi's insecurities and it felt like he lacked empathy. The only reason that everything he did was acceptable is because he's hot. If he had been a regular joe, he would have been called a stalker and creep.

Don't even get me started on those damn shippers. They were the worst part of the show and it was absolutely disgusting how they felt they had the right to invade Pi's privacy to find out about his relationship with Mork. The worst thing is there was no redemption for them as the show painted them as harmless instead of the disturbed, toxic individuals they are. Considering that they were trying to show how toxic shipping culture can be, it's a disappointment that they didn't give them an ending where they were punished for their stalkerish tendencies.

Enough of the rant. Just wanted to end my review by stating, that despite it's flaws, I did enjoy watching it and would recommend it as a great introduction to Pond & Phuwin! I also really enjoyed Duean's character. He was so funny!!!

Leggi di Più