My Only 12% (2022)

dolore puro ma anche felicità pura

Sin dall’inizio questa serie mi ha conquistato il cuore.
See-Eiw e Cake sono carinissimi insieme e inutile dire che la chimica è alle stelle, tutto ciò mi ha portato a morire ogni volta che li vedevo assieme.
Incomincio partendo dal fatto che il concetto del 12% di possibilità di riuscita con la propria prima crush è un concetto molto carino a mio parere, purtroppo c’è da dire che quando si tratta della prima crush è quasi impossibile che quei sentimenti siano ricambiati quindi la situazione è già molto difficile di per sé. Però il problema più grande per loro non è solo questo, ma proprio il fatto che siano migliori amici sin da quando sono nati.
Quando ci si innamora del proprio migliore amicx si tende a non parlarne e a cercare di non far scoprire questa cosa perché una delle paure più grandi in questo caso è che, sia in positivo che in negativo, tutto diventa e può diventare negativo.
Mi spiego: fai caso che glielo dici e ti rifiuta, dopo sarà difficile per entrambi in quanto ci sarà imbarazzo e molto probabilmente si perderà l’amicizia per colpa di tutto; facciamo invece caso che madonna scesa in cielo, accetta e vi mettete insieme, poi che ne sai che questo durerà a vita, se vi lasciate poi è ancora più difficile tornare amici e basta.
Quindi in ogni caso c’è un enorme probabilità che l’amicizia finisca ed è per questo che le persone non parlano dei propri sentimenti quando si ritrovano innamorati del proprio migliore amicx.

La situazione tra See-Eiw e Cake purtroppo è difficile in quanto sin da piccoli sono sempre stati molto molto amici e hanno sempre avuto quel tipo di rapporto come se fossero stati dei fratelli. Devo dire che comunque il rapporto che ho visto in loro sin dal primo episodio l'ho visto sempre come quel tipo di rapporto che è impossibile sia solo un'amicizia perché si vede proprio che il loro modo di approcciare con l'altro, il loro modo di guardarsi è un modo totalmente differente dal modo che hanno di solito gli amici; anche se amici stretti comunque c'è sempre quella differenza. Invece qui non c'è e si vede proprio che i loro sentimenti erano qualcosa di più.
In generale vado secondo la teoria del fatto che pian piano si siano innamorati l’un dell'altro ma senza effettivamente accorgersene perché sono sempre stati molto amici e di conseguenza non hanno mai pensato al fatto di poter essere innamorati l'uno dell'altro e vediamo che comunque il primo che se ne rende conto è See-Eiw che purtroppo non la prende neanche molto bene per il semplice fatto che quello sia un amore impossibile.

Devo dire che però questa cosa non l'hanno fatta vedere bene perché hanno fatto vedere che a un certo punto See-Eiw si è reso conto di essere innamorato di Cake, tutto raccontato in un solo episodio dopo il quale non hanno fatto vedere nulla che ti portasse a ciò che era accaduto prima, ai suoi pianti, al suo aver pensato troppo riguardo a questo essere innamorato di Cake. Vediamo che comunque dopo quell'episodio ritorna tutto come se fosse stato prima di averlo scoperto e ciò non mi è sembrato molto bello perché effettivamente avrei voluto vedere quel cambiamento nello sguardo e nell'atteggiamento perché sì, è vero che sono sempre stati molto amici e di conseguenza avere quel tipo di rapporto stretto era qualcosa qui erano entrambi abituati ma comunque da parte di See-Eiw che si è reso conto di essere innamorato di Cake ci sarebbe dovuto essere quell’atteggiamento in più che non so neanche spiegare cosa debba essere di preciso ma comunque quella cosa che ti fa rendere conto che lui ha cambiato il suo modo di vedere Cake e non lo vede più solo come un amico ma come qualcosa di più.
Riassumendo sono rimasta un po' delusa riguardo questo aspetto in quanto appunto hanno fatto vedere See-Eiw rendersi conto di questa cosa giusto per dare una svolta immaginaria alla storia e solo per collegare il loro fidanzamento e poi dopo quell’ep era ritornato tutto alla normalità chissà.

Passiamo invece a quando Cake doveva andare in America, lì i pianti, si può tradurre solo così la situazione perché ho visto proprio la difficoltà da parte di Cake nel riuscire a dire a See-Eiw di questa situazione e lo capisco veramente bene.

Quando poi è partito per l'America mi è piaciuto particolarmente il cambiamento che ha avuto See-Eiw.
Mi è piaciuto proprio perchè mi ha fatto emozionare sapere di come lui sia riuscito a cambiare così tanto in quei quattro anni e di come sia riuscito a diventare una versione migliore di se stesso. Tutto ciò mi fa emozionare ed è particolarmente bello vedere qualcuno che ci riesce quando in realtà io non ci riesco, e devo dire di essermi proprio relazionata molto al personaggio di See-Eiw perché ciò che lui era prima di quando tornasse Cake dall'America quindi una persona introversa che non amava socializzare e si trovava costantemente a disagio in situazioni sociali, quel tipo di persona è la stessa persona che sono io adesso e di conseguenza vedere come lui sia riuscito a diventare in quei 4 anni la persona che vorrei tanto diventare anche io, mi ha fatto sentire veramente molto triste ma anche felice per lui. Diciamo che mi ha dato un po' di speranza nel fatto che se mi impegno posso diventare anch'io una persona differente e posso essere più me stessa.
In generale il cambiamento che ha fatto per quanto mi riguarda non è da nominare come un cambiamento in meglio o ste robe così perché comunque sì, è diventato una versione migliore di se stesso ma ciò non toglie che la versione di lui prima non fosse appunto peggiore o migliore di quella che c'è adesso.
La versione di lui prima era degnamente buona e non bisogna giudicarla affatto.
Vediamo che comunque lui cambia sì per una sua scelta personale ma ciò non toglie che lui odiasse se stesso prima anzi quando lui aveva quel carattere che aveva prima, si piaceva anche se semplicemente si era creato dei muri davanti a sè che diventavano sempre più difficili da distruggere, dei muri così alti che ci voleva solo un po' di forza d'animo e soprattutto coraggio e voglia di rinnovare se stesso per riuscire ad oltrepassarli.
Si è reso quindi conto che bisognava fare qualcosa a riguardo, non che prima fosse peggio e che dovesse per forza fare qualcosa a riguardo ma proprio per cercare di essere sempre più se stesso: se prima essere se stesso era essere in quel modo ha sentito bisogno di iniziare ad essere ancora più se stesso e a cambiare la propria personalità non in meglio ma semplicemente adattandosi a quello che lui voleva e così è diventato la persona che è diventato, una persona veramente molto bella così come lo era prima.
(in generale pensandoci lui era se stesso prima così come dopo il cambiamento, la svolta è stata nel prendere coraggio a fare un'attività che non aveva mai fatto cioè entrare in contatto con gli altri, prima se ne stava tutto di sé e gli stava bene ma dopo aver fatto quel semplice passo per provare, si è reso conto di cosa gli piacesse/facesse veramente per lui e di cosa lo facesse stare bene, perciò è cambiato, ha scoperto una nuova versione di sé, una versione più attuale. Effettivamente quando si è introversi e asociali si tende a evitare tutto ciò che pensiamo ci possa far star male ma il fatto è che è una condizione psicologica, non è impossibile da superare ma allo stesso tempo è difficile da accettare e soprattutto trovare la forza per superare questa condizione, c’è bisogno di provare un grande fastidio da questo blocco mentale che ci ferma e avere tanta forza d’animo, VOLERE superare la cosa, solo così ne avremo il coraggio)

Passando oltre a questa situazione, quando Cake se n'è andato in America in generale la situazione per See-Eiw è stata veramente veramente difficile perché purtroppo la situazione era quella che era, trovarsi in una situazione in cui una delle persone più importanti della tua vita deve andarsene e stare lontano da te per anni è qualcosa di veramente difficile pensando soprattutto al fatto che Cake fosse un fondamento della vita di See-Eiw, qualcosa di importante che mantenesse la vita di quest’ultimo stabile. Di conseguenza ha dovuto imparare a cavarsela da solo e a non essere troppo triste ma soprattutto a metabolizzare la situazione, fortunatamente ha pensato positivo aspettando semplicemente che Cake tornasse.

Quando puoi Cake è tornato dall'America, emozione pura, mi ha fatto piacere vedere come effettivamente dopo tutti quegli anni, essendo anche cresciuti il loro rapporto sembrava un pochettino teso ma è anche ovvio dopo tutti quegli anni, di incontrarsi e saper mantenere lo stesso rapporto che avevano prima l'un con l'altro e volersi bene alla stessa maniera di prima.
Comunque mi ha fatto veramente morire quanto Cake fosse geloso di See-Eiw, soprattutto riguardo quel tizio che ci provava con lui.
Lì purtroppo le cose sono degenerate, Cake è stato un pò tossico a pensare che See-Eiw dovesse essere solo suo e a pensare che dovesse ritornare a essere quello di prima solo perchè adesso ha più amici e più vita sociale.
So che Cake non pensava ciò perchè è tossico, non lo è, il pensiero è stato tossico ma lui stesso ha sempre voluto il meglio per See-Eiw, quindi penso si sia solo voluto sfogare con quel pensiero, per far capire a See-Eiw quanto fosse importante per lui.
Oltre al fatto che per come la vedo io Cake è sempre stato innamorato di See-Eiw ma semplicemente non ha mai pensato a lui in quella maniera, ovviamente avendo sempre avuto un rapporto molto stretto, pensava fosse tutto normale senza quindi capire i suoi sentimenti. Penso che l’America sia stato il tramite che ha dato a Cake la possibilità di rendersi conto dei suoi stessi sentimenti e accettarli.
In tutto ciò quando si sono messi assieme è stato così bello, finalmente era tutto risolto al meglio. Quegli episodi sono stati i migliori per il semplice fatto di vederli così carini che si dimostravano il loro amore.
Purtroppo gli ultimi episodi sono stati devastanti, con la madre di See-Eiw che stava male e poi è morta, vedere See-Eiw e i suoi fratelli stare così male mi ha spezzato il cuore.
In generale in questa serie ci sono stati veramente tanti punti in cui ho pianto come una pazza, è stato veramente e fottutamente triste, dolore puro.

Volevo poi aprire una parentesi per Hom e Peak, dolore puro pure nel loro caso, vedere come si sono sempre amati a vicenda ma non fidanzarsi perchè Hom non riusciva a metabolizzare il fatto che lui fosse molto più piccolo, è stato doloroso.
Di tutta parte, raga meritate una persona come Peak nella vita, vi prego amore puro solo per come ha aspettato anni per lei, sono così contenta che abbiano avuto un buon fine.

Infine, penso che questa serie sia molto carina e triste allo stesso tempo, purtroppo non si vede proprio un punto della situazione nella trama ma non mi lamento troppo per il semplice fatto che nonostante ciò non mi ha mai annoiata e sono riuscita anche ad emozionarmi guardando questa serie. La consiglio vivamente.

Leggi di Più

The best level of pining one can imagine.

I’m willing to call it a perfect binge watch material. It’s easy to digest, has amazing chemistry and loveable characters. There is not much unnecessary drama and over the top events. It’s not a groundbreaking story, but it’s a nice and believable youth romance.

Not gonna like Cake was the main reason I loved it so much - both with how the character was written and how Santa portrayed him. Funny, charming, entertaining, loyal, but at the same time caring and mature. I am surprised how understanding he was, when his initial introduction was a chaos impersonation. Santa’s acting too, I could see the hearts in his eyes even before he was aware of them. Damn, this boy makes your heart flutter like crazy.

Then we have Seeiw - THE cinnamon roll. Even though more proper and organized, I would say he was acting more his teenage age compared to Cake - especially with more challenging and emotional moments. Which was nice to see - teens acting their age. I do believe his crying got a bit frustrating a few times, but I blame the writer. Sadly Earth’s delivery in that aspect was also not that good, at least in some scenes. Sometimes I watched his scenes and was not sure if he was crying or laughing…

For everyone who enjoys mutual pining - this is THE show for you. The feels were amazing. It’s so obvious to everyone they like each other, but these two teens were painfully blind to it. And I loved every second of it.

Production value was high, especially for the BL. I did not have many issues with directing. The pacing got a bit fast by the end. Not to mention, in my opinion the last two episodes should not even exist - the whole last minute plot addition was unnecessary and did not fit the show.

One of the side couples also made me question reality. I don’t have issues with age gaps, but there are some lines that should not be crossed, and I have a weird feeling that if the genders were swapped, more people would complain.

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. I appreciated a lot how it was more grounded in reality and not the typical “everyone is gay and the only homophobic people are jealous exes” and no one is afraid of coming out, or even worse - no one is really gay, they just love this one specific person of the same gender.

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IM ONLY 12% AWAKE

I'm scared to write this review. For sure, I'll receive a lot of backlash again for saying bad things about it, but I CANT just keep silent.

First, let's discuss the good things. The outline of the basic plot is good on paper; it's the love story of a couple who have been each other's first loves. In all fairness, the first few episodes were a little slow but engaging. It also feels like they have enough of a budget, as the series looked decent enough. I also appreciate the subtle changes in technology that show the difference in timeline. And yes, the main lead's hairstyle changed after the time jump! Also, let's give props to the actors because they did a good job. Of course, Earth did all the heavy lifting, but we must also acknowledge that Santa did a good job for someone so young and not as veteran as Earth.

Now, for the not-so-good parts. First, and this is totally my own opinion, I hate seeing gay characters who are portrayed as softer and more delicate than marshmallow. It felt like a backward progression for our quest for acceptance when on the  other side of the world, a lot of female characters are being portrayed as EQUAL to their male counterparts. In this day and age, portraying gay men as crybabies and scaredy cats is simply unacceptable.

And then there is the endless crying, especially in the last two episodes. Why, for crying out loud, do they make Earth cry this much? I didn't even know why it was necessary to kill Seeiw's mother just so we could have a last episode that was almost entirely Earth crying. It is not entertaining. It is so boring and unnecessary that whenever he cries, fast forwarding becomes a necessity. In fact, no matter how hard I tried, I was only 12% awake in the last 2 episodes. There are other ways to show how good an actor can be aside from shedding tears. It was a series finale, and the episode could have been used to further the storylines of our characters.

Other readers will kill me for saying this, but as strong as the start is, this felt like a cheap imitation of Love of Siam and I Told Sunset About You; unfortunately, this show can't hold a candle against those classics.

I'm sorry, as much as I adore Earth and Santa, I just cannot rewatch this show. I'm giving it a 7.5 for the effort.

EDIT: To be fair, I thought I couldnt rewatch it but i have and have increased my rating a bit. Thanks for people pointing out that I was also a bit homophobic with my review, I promise Ill be better in the future!

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This Has Quickly Turned Into A Must-See Show

I love what has been put together in this series all the way through, and it has become an easy rewatch project for anytime.
These episodes have slowly built up to some incredible moments and great acting.
What first lured me to this show was Earth. . . that's all the reason I needed right there.
Then I saw that they had New behind the camera - another plus.

Then some of my favorite actors on board, namely Prem and Pineare among them.
They all made 'Until We Meet Again' required reading for all of us, so I can't wait to see what is coming up further in this story.

The acting from everyone is great, and it's all done convincingly, enough where I easily forget that Earth is actually several years older than Santa, and it all works well.
The characters are already developed very well, too, and I'm already very affected by the strong emotions coming out of these relationships (Yes, Earth. . . that would definitely be you. . .you do this too well).

I know that New is fully aware of how great an actor he has with Earth in front of the camera, so I am always aware that there are always a few hand-picked scenes for him where the direction is, "OK, Earth, your character is in agony right now. . . I want to see real tears".
"Earth. . .pretend that your heart is breaking and that your soul is leaving your body...."
And then he delivers spectacularly.

Ouch. . .I knew these scenes were coming but I was still not prepared for the meltdown I saw in Episode 4, or Episode 7.
We've all experienced this in our real lives at one point, and you can feel it all here in waves.
Add to that being 14 or 15 and separated from one of your best friends.

I think New also knows that Earth has the gift of doing a lot of his scenes carried only by his expressions and his eyes, so most of what you will see and experience in all of these episodes will happen with hardly any dialogue from him for some very powerful scenes.

To be continued. . .
If you're just starting to watch the series, enjoy.

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I HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THIS MASTERPIECE

I just finished watching this drama and I can finally say that everything was PERFECT.
This story goes far beyond a simple love story.
Here we talk about love, friendship, loyalty, respect, the courage to not giving up and knowing how to wait!
The relationship between Eiw and Cake is BEYOND! Beyond everything and everyone!

- About Eiw, I loved the way he was able to wait, he never gave up despite being convinced that there was no chance and that it was just friendship between them. I liked his way of being sweet and understanding.

- About Cake, I really liked the fact that he always put Eiw first and foremost,."His half" (as he defined him even before he felt in love). I loved the way he reacted when he realized he was in love of his best friend. He didn't fight against his feelings, on the contrary he accepted them and took what he wanted! And do we want to talk about his jealousy? Stupendous!

Then we want to talk about hugs in this drama? Too sweet!!!!!!!!!
Their characters are amazing, I enjoyed seeing their evolution from the first to the last episode. I loved the fact that despite the time, the choices and their different lives, they still found a way not to go away, but to always be together.
Also I would really like to underline the skill of the cast, the genuineness and spontaneity with which each of them has interpreted their characters. I have to say that Earth and Santa were really good, great acting and they were super suited to their roles. I think a story like this deserved to be played by two gorgeous actors like them and, moreover, this love story needed THE CHEMISTRY that they have showed.
Just everything was perfect, from the set design, to the story, the songs, the actors and characters.

*SPOILER* The only thing I would have changed is the choice to have Eiw's mother die in the last two episodes and thus give this series a beautiful, but at the same time bitter ending.

But anyway, despite that, I loved this bl and think it is a MASTERPIECE.
I could only give 10 and, believe me, I am hardly satisfied and I rarely give such high votes, but this drama really deserves it!
I absolutely recommend you to watch it.

Leggi di Più

Awesome series,worth watching,actors did great job

This needs to be recognised,actors earth and santha did a amazing job ,the storyline is good and i suggest everyone to watch this, light weight, feel good series.i would give 10/10 for such an amazing series,i would re-watch again once i complete this ,earth is my all time favourite actor,his acting took this drama to another level ,it really needs a huge recognition.i have watched 8 episodes so far can't wait for further episodes,i really goona miss this series once i complete,you can watch this series in you tube ..earth is such an cute actor❤️.. didn't expect this drama would make me fall in love with this

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Good acting, but there's no point - just Earth crying-porn.

This is a little like a dish that has only the best ingredients, but then is overcooked and not quite what you were hoping for.

The plot is really repetitive, with Eiw being hurt and crying, and Santa cute-bullying him into not being angry with him (to be fair, that would totally work on me). Anyway, it goes around in circles for 9 episodes, and as we see in the Synopsis, we know it's building up to Cake leaving for a few years.

Eiw is the uke-est uke that ever uke'ed. He has no agency, is incapable of anything - there's even a scene where he has to run in PE class, and he literally only gets in three paces before the effort makes him collapse in a coma and he has to be hospitalized. He is wholly dependent on Cake in every conceivable way. Cake has a girlfriend, and this is endlessly painful to Eiw and so we watch him cry almost non-stop for the first 9 episodes.

So when Cake leaves, we're hoping to see Eiw blossom, become independent, and then when Cake returns, it's Cake who has to fit himself into Eiw's new life.

But nope, they just pick up right where they left off. There's no girfriend to make Cake cry, so instead, something randomly tragic happens, and the entirety of the last two episodes involves Eiw crying.

There is no point to this series. It's not about coping with loss, it's not about love, it's not about individual growth or coming of age. It's just Earth crying porn. The only purpose of anything is to make Earth cry. A man in his mid 20s, cast an adolescent who whine-cries for fourteen episodes.

And it's strictly G-rated, even when they're college grads. It's definitely a BL, but a very bromancy one - nearly chaste. They hug a lot, but that about it. A few sniff-kisses and one peck on the lips.

The acting is good, especially Santa, who is extremely talented and first-rate leading-man hunk material. And Earth has definitely mastered wailing and crying.

This is a qualiy production, but at the end of it I just don't understand what the point of it was, and I doubt I'll remember any of it in a month. Except for a scene where a doctor says something so outrageous that I burst out laughing. Even if you think this is the best series ever made, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. There's also the most horrendously-timed move made on a girl that I've ever seen. Another LOL moment.

Story: Meh. I'll give it a 4.5. It was pointless, but coherent, and kept all the characters consistent. Maybe too consisent.
Acting: 8.5 - quite good all around. Santa is the clear standout, but Prem Warat surprised me with his depth - he's so much more substantial here than he is as a stereotypical uke.
Music: I don't remember any of it, so not bad or outstanding.
Rewatch value: none. I would never rewatch this, and Santa doesn' really show us any of his hot body, so there's no shower scene to play on an endless loop.
Overall: 6.5. OK, but dull, repetitive, and forgettable. I don't think I would recommend binging it, or its repetitiveness will really stand out. If you're an Earth fan, you may like it. If you hate Earth, you'll definitely like it because he's suffering and crying for the entirety of the series.

Leggi di Più

Disappointing Ending

First of all, Earth, Santa, and Prem were amazing and they deserve 500000/10 stars.

But I am left feeling so disappointed with the ending. The last two episodes were like torture. I never read the novel, but the series until ep 11 never indicated that the entire plot would cease being about Cake and Eiw's relationship (which is what I cared about, what I was expecting), and end up being entirely about Eiw's relationship with his parents.

There was no relationship development, there really was no character development (except Eiw became less shy??). They pretended there was a happy ending, but it touched on nothing. The last two episodes are entirely Eiw and his family sobbing uncontrollably and Cake hovering in the corner sometimes, awkwardly.

I guess the esteanged and dying parent storyline (besides coming from out of nowhere at the end of the season) hit too close to home for me and that’s why I'm grumpy. But like... Eiw spent an hour explaining why he hates his dad who abandoned them because he never stopped smoking. Really? Youre not at all mad that he abandoned you and your family for years, missed out on hugely important events? You're just mad... that he smoked?

The ending seemed to suddenly become an anti smoking commercial and an egregious melodrama, with almost no romance whatsoever. So... if you, like I did, thought you were about to watch a romance, you might as well stop watching after the one makeout scene.

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It is al about the dynamics and try not to mind the details

My only 12% is a sweet story about life, family, youth and friendship as we watch these two boys who grew up together figure out what they are for each other in a not overly dramatic more evolvement kind of way...

What I love about this show is the dynamics between all of the cast, the dialog the playfulness and the characters themselves as most of the characters are lovable, supportive and I guess human in a way. I will admit that there were 2 side characters that I could have done without and would have wished could have stayed out of the story, I was also really annoyed y the turn the drama took in the last 2 episodes, it was kind of predictable and the sole reason this is not a 9. The drama also deals with a bunch of issues facing young gay teens that are rarely shown this way. Including the importance of representation in media as well as the risk of being taken advantage of without letting those parts become too big of a deal and outshine the friendships, the family ties and the over all support that takes up most of the screen time in this drama.

If you are the type to pay attention to details, you will most probably be bothered by quite a lot as there are signs of the 2020s, oddly collected signs of the 90s here and there, plus a bunch of small details that just feel out of place. So you may want to accept them or laugh at them but if you are bothered by this, it may not fully be your cup of coffee/tea...

If you ara looking for some intense emotions, thrilling twists and drama you may want to skip this as it is more of a slice of life type of youth.

While I personally would have loved to see more of this drama, and follow the different characters longer, I found the two last episodes a bit rushed and as mentioned in a direction that just felt meeh to me... So i am hoping for a special episode or two or a spin off to get to see more of these characters and do reccomend it to all those who appreciate a friends to lovers slice of life drama with great dynamics...

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slice of life with pacing issue

Overall: I enjoyed the slice of life feel but the beginning dragged and then the ending felt rushed. Aired on iQIYI and on YouTube (varies by country)

Content Warnings: a slap/punch not between the 2 leads, manhandling, vomiting, and something else at the end that is a major spoiler

What I Liked
- opposite personalities, a slacker/carefree extrovert and a studious introvert
- shows the power of representation, how Eiw thought he couldn't be happy because of the movie he saw whereas Cake had seen guys happy and figured he could have that too
- cool that they released it on August 12th and that was the day circled on the calendar in the intro animation and the 12 is in the title
- cute and funny moments
- the friend relationships, sibling relationships
- avoiding a certain cliche trope in the 2nd the last episode
- displays of consent
- color grading

Room For Improvement
- it was too slow and felt repetitive but then at the end felt really rushed
- Cake's extreme possessiveness and jealousy wasn't cute, telling Eiw he had to change clothes and couldn't talk to Cake's friends was not fun to watch
- Cake not checking/discussing with Eiw about some really important things that involved them both
- Kung, time and place dude, time and place
- the PSA in the last two episodes was heavy handed (and also you can't say that with total certainty)
- everyone pressuring Eiw in the final episode, let him be

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This is more than what it seems like

Little did i expect to watch a bl series and on top of that ,it being high school themed ? But but but i am glad that i came across this and managed to watch it till the end.

Would'nt deny that i felt like giving this up at times when it got a little draggy and boring but my curiousity kicked in to just check how the relation between Eiw and Cake would turn out to be.
The second half of the series was surprisingly intriguing and undoubtedly the last 3 episodes were the highlight of the series (atleast for me). Well i personally like dramas which dont just focus on love track but life in general , this was just that!!

I absoutely loved the smooth transition between scenes from sweetest to heartbreaking scenes. It is not just about 2 childhood friends falling in love , there is a lot more to it. How Eiw and cake realized and accepted their feeling for each other , how being apart for years and distance could just emerge into longing for one another, And ofcourse the memorable and emotional ending Dint realise when tears started rolling out of my eyes and i ending up bawling
It has one of the cutest confession scenes i have ever witnessed .Get ready to make your hearts pound with all the fluffyness and dont forget to keep boxes of tissues handy cause this is gonna make your eyes dryout.

Special mention :- Of all the actors in this series Santa's (who plays cake) acting skills took me by surprise. Like how can someone his age portray this role with ease. This kid i must say stole all my attention whenever he was on screen.

If you just read the summary , see few posters and choose not to watch "My only 12 percent" , you might miss something worth experiencing.

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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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