Duang with You

It has taken a while until I felt ready to write this review, and the reason is that I loved this series so much that I would have been carried away if I had written it right after the series ended. So I decided to rewatch it, and here I am, still loving it.

Actually, my own “Duang love story“ had a bumpy start, because after the first episodes I asked myself what I would do if a guy like Duang were stalking me – a real life Duang might have ended up with a black eye. But after a couple of weeks I just couldn’t help fall for this good-hearted, jolly boy.

In the beginning, “Duang With You“ looked like another silly, generic Thai BL series set in college with a typical “opposites attract“ plot. Extrovert (to put it mildly – noisy and childish sounds more appropriate) arts student Duang experiences his moment of love at first sight hearing Qin sing, and from this moment on he starts trying to get close to him. Qin, however, an introvert (to put it mildly – grumpy and distant sounds more like it) musical student, rejects him at first.

After some time, Duang’s persistence pays off, and as Duang becomes more cautious and Qin kind of encourages him to try his luck, the ice starts melting. Later in the series Qin admits that Duang already attracted his attention in high school, although it is not completely clear whether he only noticed the weird boy or already had a crush on him. Anyway, Duang and Qin gradually become friends, and - as Qin opens up little by little - lovers. Both Duang and Qin are being supported by their closest friends.

After the first episodes, which come across as quite silly, if not shallow comedy, there is a change of tone in the later parts of the series. Duang and Qin’s relationship grows from one-sided admiration to mutual, real friendship, and it becomes obvious that both of them are products of their respective families. Duang’s parents and elder brother are all extrovert comedians, who love each other unconditionally, whereas Qin’s...