Destiny Seeker (2023)

Cliche but in terms of portrayal it lacks nothing at all

Okay so here's my take on this one.

First of all, I came across this series on YouTube shorts , that scenario where they were eating in the cafeteria , sitting across and facing each other, Songkram pretending to stretch out but sneakily made a heart sign using his fingers. The other party got flustered and also pretended to stretch out but made a heart sign using his hands instead over his head. Ahhhh I really love that scene. It was pure cuteness. Also their facial expressions was on point that I couldn't help but giggle in silence (ps I was watching it around 12 in the morning, glad I did)


I've been a BL fan since TeeFuse era (My Tee the series) I've also watch Love of Siam by Mario Maurer before the first mentioned series. Just trying to say , I've seen a lot of BLs in the industry be it Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and so on. I also read BL novels, read quite a few as well.

Back to them, my first impression of Earth was that his fierceness and the EYEBROWS lol. He really is a resemblance of Eun Woo but much more of a Dylan Wang aura from the remastered Meteor Garden. I've seen a lot of good-looking Thai BL actors but he's more of an exotic one for me. I just can't wrapped myself about the fact that this gorgeous guy plays so well in this series. I really wanted to say more lol . Let's go with Bank, honestly when I was watching the series I really thought he reminded me of Bai Lou Yin for some reasons, attitude and sarcastic side also his haircut is the same as Bai Lou Yin. Needless to say Bank is much younger and cuter. (ps I found out that he's a year younger than me and I was a bit shocked for the reason that is it okay to be head over heels to someone younger than you, also our bdays is just 3 days apart lol we're both Aries, I think it's a cute trivial fact for me)


Second thing, their chemistry is very on point I can't stop but gets an ear to ear smile esp when I saw them being so lovey-dovey with each other on EP 8. Their acting is so natural as well, they really did a bunch of workshops just to get there and blend in with their characters. Generally, don't we presume chemistry first before watching a romance story????

Yes concept of the story is very cliche BUT it was more than that. Also I love the fact that unlike many BLs out there there's no cringey-ness at all. One of the factors why I really like this series.

Let's talk about the side couples. Oh boy, they did them very preciously. I find the freshmans very cute but hey aggressive and full of vitality as h*ll. Pipe and Meen, I still didn't understand much about them I mean it was more of being rushed ,some things weren't clarified for me somehow they just went impulsively and boom do the did , tho what I like about their scene is that they did the nipple biting, Pipe did, I was hoping Songkram was going to do it to Ai as well. Actually I felt like it was rushed in a way that a lot of things aren't actually tackled properly. For instance, Pipe did said he likes Ai and that was confirmed via him trying to give Ai some ointment but that was it like what??? nothing else happened at that point, hmm about their study session, I couldn't feel anything special tho it was very normal. Its like he just went there just to bicker with Songkram. Also Songkram mentioned he was flirting and trying to court Ai but as far as I remember it wasn't that way to me. Honestly the first episode was really a mess first time watching it. Glad I did rewatch it also watched their EP 1 reaction fortunately it has English subtitles but very little.


I never really expected the series to have nsfw scenes at all. I mean the cast was full of visuals and I thought it would be just lovey-dovey scenes. Oh boy. The final EP was *chef's kiss* Ai and Songkram's scene was really something. I'm out of words. The last part where they kissed each other's forehead and said I love you was something I thought off right after them doing the deed and that was really beautiful. That scene where they cried together at the hospital, I cried a little on that, for the reason that I felt pity on Songkram for on the spot acting tough and just saying he would wait for him. Long distance isn't something anyone could handle esp as we know how Songkram is deeply in love with Ai.

I hope my review helps somehow. Also don't give up on this one. Its a gem. I mean the flaws that I have said made it a gem. It was worth it to be honest. I stopped watching BLs right after finishing Bad Buddy and for the first time this year I'm glad my first one is them, EarthBank.

Also, it's a disappointment not having English subs on most of their interviews and playzone series on YouTube. As a foreign fan. I felt like I lost a part of me not knowing what these guys are saying. Is it just me? I haven't seen them being on the spotlight, the spazzers and all the translators? Where are you guys? If I do have the money to sponsor the translation for every international fan I might have done it so. Dang being poor sucks.

ps. I just made an insta account just to follow both of them, I got post series depression after watching the series so it helps a lot knowing that they're still together sometimes and I found some very cute interactions of both on YouTube doing dares on ig live and tiktok as well.

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Stayed for the main couple

First of all, here's a recommendation: make sure to find good subtitles for this series. When I tried to watch the first episode with English subtitles, they were so bad that I seriously considered dropping the show altogether. I was lucky enough to find good subtitles in my native language, but if I hadn't, I don't think I would have watched anything past the second episode. Also, the first two episodes are very slow and the pace only picks up from the third episode, so that wouldn't have helped either.

The plot of the story is not very convincing. There are good tropes that could have made the story interesting, but all of them felt very superficial and inconsistent: some elements were introduced and then forgotten, some others stayed for the entire story but never felt as crucial as they were probably meant to be (like the rivalry between Dorm 2 and Dorm 3, which kept being brought up and then suddenly forgotten at every turn). I was under the impression that the writers came up with different ideas, then were indecisive about which one they could pick, and finally chose to include all of them. I felt like I was being swept left and right by the plot and its constant changes in direction, so after a while I just stopped questioning anything that was happening in the story, and focused on the romance.
The story of each couple isn't much less confusing than the overarching plot, but the chemistry of the main pair made up for it. Ai and Songkhram have to be one of the most adorable on-screen couples I've seen and all their moments together had me glued to the screen; the development of their relationship was also pretty good despite everything. The secondary couples didn't get the same care, unfortunately: I feel like Pipe and Meen could have shown much more, but the pacing was off and their story ended up feeling unsatisfying to me. As for Pluster and Nano, they didn't really have any sort of subplot of their own to begin with - either that or it was just so insignificant that it didn't even catch my eye.

Overall, I'm sure I will remember this series just because of Ai and Songkhram and not much else. I only recommend watching as long as you don't have high expectations for the story.

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I agree with the "confusing start"

To be Honest, I really didn't like the start of this series. I'm not sure whether I wanted to proceed after episode 1 and I even skipped Ep 2 (FR XD). I watched Ep3 onward and it's good. I wasn't expecting that I'd love it. I think I'm just really picky with how a story starts.

It's concept is sort of similar to Bad Buddy. Keeping their Relationship a secret as well as how they're both from opposing sides.

I'm gonna be listing what I like in this series base on my interests(lol). Despite me not liking episode 1, I like the concept of repeated history (the part where their seniors picked them and when they became seniors and had to pick their Juniors ).
I like how the main character is seriously thinking about his future (whether he's making the right choice) and not simply courting his BF to be. I'm into relationships(not necessarily romantic) with a specific past be it good or bad, so the second couple's interactions fits my interest. I also love the third couple's first venture into BXB relationship, how they're clueless how to do it with each other as they're both their firsts.

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I might say that I got tricked from a short video on instagram. I excited to try this series even though I knew from the beginning that this show would be such a waste. Yet, I could finish it. lol

One think that I love about this show is that chemistry between Ai and Songkhram. I profoundly in love with their relationship. But their story was awful. I don't understand how the fight between 2 dorms work, but they didn't give us any detail about the real "competition". If they tried to make such a romeo-juliet story but based on dormitory, It didn't work.

Another thing that I really hate is the behind story about Songkhram's feeling towards Ai. They told us that He's been in love with him since his first year, but I didn't see any effort from him. They even skipped those 2 years without telling us anything whatsoever.

I wish Bank and Earth had another chance in another series. They honestly deserved a great show!

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Una bocanada de aire fresco

Después de demasiadas series extrañas que han salido estos últimos años, Destiny Seeker se convierte en una bocanada de aire fresco para mí en cuanto a los BLs.

Aunque llena de clichés y escenas sobre exageradas, no deja de ser buena y te regresa a los tiempos de los BLs como Sotus y Kiss Me Again. Lo cual resulta muy agradable para salir de la rutina.

Si al igual que yo quieren un poco de aire fresco después de series con temáticas más complicadas esta es la ideal para ver.

PD no se dejen llevar por el primer episodio, es un poco confuso.

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Cute Rival/Friend Dynamic and Light-hearted Series

I originally tried to watch this last year but the subs were very bad. It has gotten a lot better. Not great, but understandable for the most part. Maybe 10-15% where the sentence structure is weird/backwards or the grammar is off. I'm glad I revisited this because this was a very fun, cute, and light series. Great leads, great friends. Nothing overly dramatic and no big misunderstandings. There were times where I felt like things were cut, but overall, I enjoyed it.

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● SHORT REVIEW
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LIKES:
-- I really liked the rival/friends dynamic. Nothing too serious. Cute interactions, and great chemistry. Initial kisses did feel awkward, but hey, there was passion. And the nc scene, the kissing was a lot better. Maybe the initial awkward kisses was intentional? Idk. Still loved their chemistry.
--I enjoyed the friend group (Ohm not included). Despite the rivalries going on, it seemed mostly just for fun and no one was taking it seriously. They still supported and helped each other and remained civil.


DISLIKES:
-- Huge time jump so we don't really get to see the process of Songkram or Ai falling in love. They both are already crushing on each other after the time jump. Would have been fine if they included more flashbacks.
-- They could've done a better job at showing Ai's frustration with Songkhram in episode 7. It did feel abrupt. Maybe he felt overwhelmed in the moment and that's where that annoyance came from? But they didn't build it up well enough. Or maybe something got cut or lost in translation. It doesn't really matter too much though because the conflict was quickly resolved


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● IN-DEPT REVIEW
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[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

The story was pretty simple and straightforward. Very light and cute. There was no huge drama or anything overly dramatic going on, which I liked. Even the rivalry between the dorm between wasn't all that serious. They still hung out with one another. Just a lot of playful banter and bickering, mostly between the two dorm heads. Otherwise, it was just all fun. It the rivalry concept reminds me a little of Bad Buddy, but this series is not as dramatic and deep. It keeps everything pretty light-hearted. I think the most dramatic thing was Ohm's reaction to Ai when Ohm was left out of the Sandbox project. He seemed very ungrateful to the two people who helped him when he was in trouble. Ohm got his feelings hurt once and forgot all about the kindness Ai has showed up. Other than Ohm though, all the other friends were great. Even when everyone was split between rival dorms, they supported and helped each other, like with tutoring. Even when the two boys were competing to win Ai's affection, they still remained friends, which I loved. Also, it was funny and cute. I really enjoyed all the pairings and their dynamics. Ai's mom and Songkram's dad were also both great, supportive parents, which is always nice to see.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

Going in, I wasn't familiar with the cast, but I very much enjoyed their acting as I loved their interactions and chemistry. Wanted to punch Ohm for his behavior, which is a good thing. Going forward, I hope to see more of all of them. Not really much to say here other than they all did a good job.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

Ok, so while I was watching the series, I don't think there was really anything that stood out to me. Not really bad, but also not memorable. The only song I looked up was the one from Bank, which was ok. I don't think it's something I'll add to my playlist though.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

This was a relatively short, fun, and light-hearted series, so it's something I could easily rewatch again. And I probably will. I didn't expect to like it so much, but I do. It was fun to watch.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

Again, there really wasn't anything deep or dramatic going in this series. Just two guys who secretly crushed on each other and are part of rival dorms. Their interactions was very fun and cute to watch. The friend group was great, minus Ohm, but Ohm was mostly just Ai's friend anyway. Although it's not really anything unique or special, it doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. There really isn't much to say about it other than it's cute and fluffy and light. I loved it.


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● NOTE
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I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

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Une excellente surprise dans le paysage des BL universitaires

Je n'avais pas spécialement prêté attention à ce drama au point que j'avais complètement zappé qu'il dormait dans ma Watchlist. Mais bon, comme je fonctionne par phases dans mes visionnages et que les BL Thaï, aussi neuneus soient-ils parfois, restent le meilleur moyen pour moi de me détendre quand je veux un truc léger et romantique, j'ai commencé à le regarder sans attendre grand-chose... et j'ai été très surprise par sa qualité, à tel point que je ne comprends pas pourquoi il n'a pas obtenu une meilleure note sur MDL.

Alors d'accord, on a une fois de plus un BL universitaire dont les protagonistes sont inscrits dans une prestigieuse faculté d'ingénieurs. Mais disons que la comparaison avec les habituels BL pour midinettes à la "2 moons" et autres "My Engineer" s'arrête-là. Si on oublie le côté bancal du premier épisode (des flash-back mal identifiés comme tels au début et un saut dans le futur d'une ou deux années qui nous perdent un peu si on ne fait pas attention), le postulat de base un peu facile (des dortoirs qui sont en rivalité histoire d'ajouter une "tension" artificielle aux romances) et ladite rivalité qui est davantage déclarative que montrée parce que tout ce beau monde a quand même l'air de s'entendre pas trop mal, on passe un très bon moment devant ce BL qui relève sacrément le niveau.

Maintenant que j'ai abordé les points un peu bof, passons aux points positifs :

- Un scénario plutôt intelligent qui, même s'il se concentre beaucoup sur la romance, nous montre aussi la réalité de la vie de ces étudiants : leurs rêves d'avenir sont évoqués, et le projet qu'ils doivent présenter est fouillé, dans les scènes où ils travaillent à plusieurs dessus, bah on les voit vraiment travailler dessus et ces scènes ne servent pas juste à introduire des moments d'intimité sous prétexte qu'ils bossent dans une chambre et que "oh, ça tombe bien, y'a un lit à côté".

- Des acteurs aussi agréables à regarder que talentueux, et étonnants de naturel particulièrement dans les scènes intimes. Pas de timidité mal placée, de débiles rougissants au visage crispé dès qu'il y a une tentative de bisou, d'ailleurs je dois préciser que pour le coup c'est plutôt le spectateur qui rougit. Sur ce point, Destiny Seeker n'a pas grand-chose à envier à KinnPorsche, si ce n'est que les scènes de sexes sont rares ici. Mais les relations sont saines, et sur 10 épisodes sans longueurs ni répétitions, ça nous suffit amplement. L'acteur qui joue Meen réussit parfaitement à montrer en même temps l'excitation et un zeste d'incrédulité quand vient enfin la concrétisation qu'il n'attendait plus avec celui qu'il aime depuis toujours, quant aux deux acteurs principaux ils m'ont carrément scotchée tellement ils semblaient à l'aise. Même le baiser du troisième couple m'a surprise parce que l'acteur qui joue l'initiateur de ce baiser fait vachement jeune et il s'en sort plutôt bien (en vrai il est déjà majeur mais on ne dirait pas). Soit dit en passant, aucun d'entre eux ne m'était familier. Je ne sais pas où ils les ont dégottés ceux-là, mais ils feraient mieux de les chouchouter...

- Une bande-son vraiment sympa, qui n'a rien à voir avec les musiques tradi des BL thaï et absolument pas répétitives. Mention spéciale au son lounge durant la scène romantique des protagonistes, c'est au moins la deuxième de cette série que j'ai shazamée.

- Pas de séjour bénévole pour réparer une énième école de province. Pas de mangeurs dégueulasses qui s'en tartinent plein la joue et que leurs chéris essuient amoureusement. Les scènes de cantine sont rares d'ailleurs. Pas de gros gays efféminés tournés en ridicule. Pas de fan-clubs constitués de midinettes stupides, ni d'evil bitches amoureuses d'un des héros (en même temps, c'est vrai que des filles, on n'en voit pas beaucoup...). Pas de scènes à rallonge qui ne servent à rien sauf à meubler (comme dit plus haut : 10 épisodes, c'est suffisant). Pas de scandales sur les réseaux sociaux ou de niaiseries liées à une quelconque popularité. Ils sont étudiants, c'est tout, et on s'en fout s'ils ont l'air cool dans leurs chemises d'ingénieurs - qu'ils ne portent pas souvent d'ailleurs, l'uniforme ne semblant pas obligatoire en toutes circonstances. Bref, si l'intrigue en elle-même n'a rien d'exceptionnel et qu'elle reste dans un contexte plutôt classique, elle sait éviter la plupart des clichés (pas tous hein, mais bon, ça reste rare).

- Des décors agréables. D'habitude dans les dramas universitaires, on reconnaît souventl'environnement interchangeable dans lequel les personnages évoluent (les préaux avec les grosses Audi ou les deux-roues, le parvis de la fac, les chambres Ikea, la cantine, etc...). Et même si on a quand même droit à un week-end au bord de la mer comme dans de nombreux BL, l'hôtel et la plage m'ont semblés différents. Alors certes, ça reste une histoire qui se déroule sur un campus, avec des dortoirs classiques, mais les créateurs de la série ont quand même trouvé des lieux nous donnant l'impression qu'ils se sont un minimum creusé le ciboulot pour nous offrir quelque chose d'un peu nouveau.

- A aucun moment on nous bassine avec les positions de chacun au sein du couple (qui est top, qui est bottom, ou autres idioties sur les "hubby" et "wifey"), je pense que les créateurs de la série ont porté un soin tout particulier au fait d'éviter les schémas hétéronormés visant à rassurer l'audience habituelle formatée aux cases toutes faites, pour coller davantage au réalisme attendu par la communauté LGBTQ+. Je n'irai pas plus loin sur ce sujet car ce sont eux les mieux placés pour en juger, en tout cas c'est l'impression que ça m'a donné.

- Une ou deux scènes d'humour sympathiques et bien exécutées qui m'ont bien fait rigoler. Et puis une chouette fin que jusque-là, je n'avais pas encore vue dans un BL. Je ne spoilerai pas.

Bon j'arrête là sinon j'en ai encore pour des plombes et il est plus d'1h du mat'. Quoi qu'il en soit, et je sais que je me répète, ce drama m'a surprise dans le bon sens parce que j'attendais à un truc classique, et bien que l'intrigue reste légère et ne s'écarte pas tellement des rebondissements attendus, on nous offre des acteurs, une mise en scène et des dialogues qui changent de l'ordinaire. En dépit du 1er épisode qu'il faut plutôt considérer comme un "brouillon", c'est un bon drama romantique qui a des allures de BL universitaire, sans en reproduire à la lettre le cahier des charges vu et revu. Comme quoi, il ne faut pas désespérer.

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Desperately needed more time on the editing floor..

This one is hard to rate because there were things I loved about it and there were things I really didn't like. Most of this review may just end up being my thought process just trying to work it all out in my head so I apologize in advance if it's just as scattered as this series was.

If we go with the bad first, as the headline suggests, this series really could have used some better editing. There were many things that didn't make sense at the time or seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving me wondering if I missed a scene or a full episode entirely. (I guess I should also mention that there wasn't a great option for English subs... I tried multiple sources and the subs on all of them were rough. But you can still get the gist if you don't read word for word or know your thesaurus.) Sometimes something will happen in an early episode and then about 4 or 5 episodes later, they will throw in a flashback kind of thing that explains it... but at that point, it's almost forgotten about since so much has happened in between. And then there's the other side of the spectrum where suddenly Ai is telling Songkhram to go away and leave him alone out of the blue when just before that everything was honky dory... then we find out he was having an inner battle of feelings but there was no show of that.. so it made him look like he was either being unreasonable or someone was forcing him to break things off with Songkhram otherwise they'd do something bad. So it really didn't make sense at all.

I was glad for the reviews I read that said the beginning was rough but that it gets better because it was very true and, in the end, I really ended up enjoying the series.

While the acting wasn't the best, it's clear the actors worked on their on-screen chemistry because pretty much all of the couples (3 main ones) had good scenes together. As individual relationships, there was progression and storyline (mainly for the couples of Songkhram/Ai and Bright/Meen... unfortunately I feel like the 3rd couple's story suffered from the aforementioned editing issue.) There was a decent amount of spice too which I somehow didn't expect with the way the series started out. Most of it didn't happen until the latter half of the series but I thought it was well done. Especially Songkhram and Ai's first time.. it was practically perfect in the buildup from the way their eyes just locked from across the room, being drawn together and then they started slow kissing, making out, allowing the tension to grow and finally coming together to complete the cycle. SO many series forget about foreplay and build-up which is, in my opinion, more important than the act of sex itself.

I liked the different take on the university rivals trope.. even though they were all engineers, they were divided by other aspects completely unrelated to school, just so they could start out their university life surrounded by people who had similar interests. It was like they took the hierarchy of the SOTUS program but made it into something meant to benefit the freshmen. There were no bully subplots though there was plenty of good-natured hazing amongst the core group of friends. That scene at the amusement park where the friends were "bumping into" either Ai or Songkhram was hilarious and I loved it. It was another different take on "outing the secret couple" trope that wasn't obnoxious or overly invading.

I guess that's where my biggest confusion comes from.. like.. there were so many good ideas thrown into this series to make it different enough and they had actors that worked well against each other.. but it just got lost when trying to follow some of the plot. They needed to work on the transitional parts that explained how they got from point A to point B. Even the flashbacks they threw in here and there seemed like an afterthought.

Either way, I would recommend this series as one that doesn't need too much brain power (except for further translating the subs). It was a fun, easy watch and I'll definitely watch it again. I'll give it some time to get some better subs, hopefully. I'll keep my fingers crossed..

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Simple but well made

It had a strong and beautiful start, went straight into the story and didn't waste time.
The idea of red and blue color that was with them until the end of the series was very special and beautiful, it was interesting that this was applied even in the smallest details.


Songkram's character was interesting, even though I thought he would have a proud and arrogant personality, but he was completely the opposite, he seems very mature and patient in a very good shape..
Ai had a logical personality, but sometimes he got very angry and overreacted because of dorm's problems
and it was really made me sad fir Singkram.


The most beautiful parts were right after they confessed to eachother and the kiss in the rooftops
I didn't think that Ai character could be so romantic and in love, but they show the beginning and development of a relationship very well despite the obstacles of their university.


In the end, it can be said that the series was fun and beautiful, it had good actors, and the chemistry between them was very good, and the scenario went well and everything ended cleanly and transparently.
I definitely miss them

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