Perfect10 Liners (2024)

Three in one, for the same price, and the perfect hysterical

My first impression when I learned about its future premiere was that a series with 24 episodes was not ideal for me. But after the beginning, we begin to realize how things will go: There are 8 chapters for each of the three main couples. That is, it works as if they were three independent series in one. And yes... this way perhaps it would have worked the same and even better, but this would go against GMMTV's winning formula.
The series offers us three separate stories, but at the same time connected to each other because the characters are friends and all study at the Faculty of Engineering at a Thai university. They are, in fact, members of an exclusive circle of "Perfect 10 Liners", a group made up of extraordinary students from various years, and which will include Arm (Book), Wine (Mark) and Gun (Santa), first year students, when they participate in a drawing to determine their peer mentors.
In this way, these three students, who also do not know each other until they meet on the university campus, will meet Arc (Force), Faifa (Junior) and Yotha (Perth), who will be their tutors, but also with whom, also in that order, will begin a love story.
'Perfect 10 Liners' is a youth comedy and romance series that follows the story of these six young people, who come from separate and parallel universes (we don't know anything, at least yet, about social origins, family relationships, etc., but These are also not questions that many Thai BLs delve into, in general) but their encounter leads them to try to find a new direction, with a new world and a new version of themselves. The sextet will pursue their dreams, their struggles with friendships, romantic relationships, social norms and acceptance/self-acceptance, while trying to discover who each of them is, exploring their different student interests, their emotions and their sexual identities.
However, as is typical in the productions of New Siwaj Sawatmaneekul, its director and creator of numerous BL series, such as 'Make It Right: The Series' and 'Until We Meet Again', among others, the path to true love is full of obstacles and challenges, so the protagonists will face student difficulties, difficulties between friends, heart problems and other dilemmas. But what comes after each first love encounter of the six main characters? A journey of self-discovery, dreams and, of course, love. But this is said in the synopsis, episode 0 or Special broadcast days before the official start of the series, and various trailers, and as viewers we will have to discover it.
At the end of the day, this is a fiction about how you reach maturity and that is a road that never comes without bumps.
Why the decision to separate the plots and not develop them in parallel, as in 'We Are', for example? In my opinion, this is because, unlike the aforementioned series, there is no main couple here. Each couple has equal weight in the narrative as a whole, and in this way each one will have its story, which does not mean that one will stop combining with the others.
But the fundamental reason is that, unlike others that address university themes and multiple couples, the series presents us with three protagonists who do not enter university in the same academic year, but in different academic years. In this way, by the time Wine is introduced to the other members of "Perfect 10 Liners", Arm and Gun are already in the upper years of their careers and have been dating Arc and Yotha, respectively, for some time.
Therefore, the second and third stories, those that would be told from episodes 9 to 16, and from 17 to 24, would be those of the other four members of this select student club. We see the story from Arm's perspective, and it starts just at the moment when Wine asks Arm how he started his romance with Arc?
The setting is sublime with the faculties, dormitories, gardens and dining halls of the university, and in the background that incomparable mix of art, architecture and ancient culture and modernity that responds to the name of Thailand.
With a project that has points of contact with other of his productions, and through a territory explored by other directors and by himself, such as university romance, New retraces his steps and brings us another of his plots focused on different stories of several couples of young university students who go through a stage of falling in love with experiences of excitement, love, hope, happiness and certain emotions that are part of a romantic relationship, as we saw in 'We Are' and 'Fourever You', also of his authorship, but with the difference described above.
We agree that in the series business, BL or not, commonplaces abound, right?
Well, pretend that New and screenwriter Inthira Thanasarnsumrit, his usual accomplice in creating BL, like 'Star and Sky: Star in My Mind | Sky in Your Heart', 'A Boss and a Babe', 'We Are' and 'Our Skyy 2', took all the platitudes from every college story ever, but instead of "rehashing" them, they updated them.
As? With all the youthful concerns of today. From the use of social networks and group chats as a meeting point for students to the carbon footprint we are leaving, including sexual diversity, going to a university far from home, fitting in with strangers, the search for recreation and fun between exams and a thousand more conflicts.
The result is very interesting because it fuses the best of what has always worked in this industry with the best of what lovers of BL romantic comedies expect, all presented through beautiful cinematography. It's ultimately the perfect mix of rowdy antics and cuteness, all with quirky character dynamics.

THE FIRST STORY

Force and Book star in the first story in this series that follows a classic romantic premise. The plot revolves around two university students, one in the third year of Civil Engineering and the university's heartthrob, and the other in the first year of Electrical Engineering and administrator of the faculty's virtual page, both of different personalities, whose destinies are they intertwine in a context full of anger and withholdings, often with a setting that underlines their connection, such as a shower in each other's bedrooms when they barely know each other. Despite their differences, the protagonists fall deeply in love from the first moments in which their eyes meet.
After watching the first episode we can make some evaluations. These are preliminary considerations, because only the first of the 24 episodes that the series has has been broadcast, but viewing them tells us that we are facing a luminous post-adolescent drama, optimistic in just the right measure and that knows how to focus on the benefits of its characters. to transcend beyond the undeniable interest of the plots focused on their most mundane problems.
For example, it's very lighthearted but quick to see the way Arc and Arm begin to create a bond that goes beyond that of senior and junior. Both are specialists in hysterics, that flirting that acts like begging or simulating indecision.
The creator seems to be infatuated with the actors and their homosexual side, and here he accentuates it with total creative freedom, for the good of the followers of BL series in general and these two stars in particular. The first scenes of episode 1 already indicate where things are going, showing the two going from strangers to enemies and from there to... well, almost lovers.
Anyway, why beat around the bush if everyone already knew that the protagonists of this plot and main romantic attractions would be them. But hey, let's hope they are characters that gain much more depth and development. Because yes, romantic, sweet and humorous moments contribute a lot.
I mean, the first episode works very well. When Force and his Arc appear, the series gains a lot of momentum. His mere presence on screen makes my heart burst with joy and gallop at more than 120 beats per minute. He is a proven actor, with extensive command of television codes in relation to camera treatment, to work a character with so much continuity and chapters, with so many diverse locations. For example, his role in this series is a co-lead, and as a result, extremely active in his relationship with other contexts and dramatic situations.
For his part, Book is one of those actors who find it useful to focus on the authenticity of the character. Despite being somewhat theatrical for television, its approach is always to seek the truth of each situation. The way he works is to understand why the character reacts in a certain way, whether with more grandiloquence or less, and making sure that authenticity is present in each scene.
The dialogues are not very sharp and bright, but with an intention, in my opinion: to set the tone and the light plot. The plots of the other students remain in the background. They don't attract but they don't bother either.
The director also offers us the intervention of Amy and Fluke as Yipun and Jet, respectively, the couple who will make our protagonists meet and begin their rapid push and pull and the future of the relationship between both boys.
It is also encouraging to have Fluke Gawin Caskey, Drake Sattabut Laedeke, and Marc Pahum Jiyacharoen, who return to the BL series to play Arc's three friends, while Poon Mitpakdee and JJ Chayakorn Jutamat will play Arm's friends. These characters are much flatter and most of them are very stereotyped, but the public who loves these actors always receives them with open arms.
The story has many characters, but they are all united in various ways, so it makes sense to me to see so many people. Navigating the day-to-day cast of characters in real life is no different than what is shown here, especially in a school or work environment. That said, this is still a comedy and many of the situations were done in a humorous way with a certain dramatic touch. But the actions and emotions of the cast were appropriate for the roles they play.
There are those who will say that it is stupid, that its protagonists repeat themselves in their roles, that the dialogues are not profound, that the performances are exaggerated, that Force keeps repeating his silly expressions while Book maintains his ridiculous expressiveness, that they are too old to walk between university hustle and bustle..., but the truth is that 'Perfect 10 Liners' fits perfectly into a genre that serves as GMMTV's flagship: the cheerful university romance, a successful formula that continues to resonate with audiences in Thailand and beyond its borders.
This is a type of show with stories that are intentionally accessible to all types of audiences, and provides viewers with love stories that are tender and funny alike, and that we can all identify with.
The truth is that it fulfills its original proposal of making the viewer entertain and brighten the day, while mixing established actors with others who have a true school in the established figures and in the series, and this perfect combination between experienced and new, is a determining factor in the general quality, in addition to adding freshness and diversity.
The budget and execution are good: optical locations, cameras, lighting and grading (no one ever talks about grading, and it is an art).
'Perfect 10 Liners' stands out thanks to its main protagonists, who have already won the affection of all of us with their characters in other BLs and will continue to conquer us with all their plots in this series.
Also in its favor are the lyrics of the songs, the main one, "Perfect", performed by the six protagonists, and "Love Suspect", which identifies the first story, and which we will hear in the voices of Force and Book. It is these musical themes that become threads that unite moments, emotions and characters in an artistic fabric that seeks to tell the story of a group of young people who will discover who they are on the way to finding the best version of themselves. Likewise, through the lens of this creator, a world is revealed where the representation of a wide diversity of voices and experiences takes center stage.
The series is entertaining. If all the episodes maintain the tone and rhythm of the first, we are in for a long series, or three in one, but we will have a good time watching it. It's a young people's soap opera, yes, but the characters are fine, they have more or less real problems that any young person from anywhere in the world would face (it's a series, it's not perfect, it's always a little stereotyped), and they approach things with relative intelligence. and good humor.
Finally, at least for now, since I will surely return at another time to update the review, I recommend the series because it is designed for two groups of people: fans of romance and the classic BL format; and the eternal lovers of Force, Book, Junior, Santa, Mark and Perth.

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