This is the BL that set the bar high for all other BLs after it!!

I'll be including a section of things you need to know before watching Love By Chance Season 2, and things you need to know about the world of Love By Chance/P'Mame before watching this series at the bottom of this review.

STORY:

Love By Chance is a light-hearted BL that does use a lot of popular BL troupes, yet it doesn't overwhelm the audience by making everything too obvious. All the couples fit into a troupe, and even the characters fit into a stereotype. That being said, the story is still lovely and all the actors are amazing, especially the leads.

Going back to the troupes, Love By Chance does touch on almost every troupe out there. E.g. coming out to parents, figuring out of your sexuality, sweet couple, lovers to enemies, poor boy and rich boy, terrible exs, rape, etc. When looking at the troupes, there is an underlying darkness that looms the troupes with most series getting very dark with it. For example, coming out or figuring out your sexuality is something that some series spend the whole series on and the plot can also get very heavy. Love By Chance, however, glazes over it very quickly. The series takes a very sweet and innocent approach to all of it that really gives off the vibe that this is a boy's first love. All the lead characters are experiencing their first love and their approach to it is very innocent and cute. They don't over think their issues and just real with it as it comes which makes all the relationships very cute and enjoyable.

However, there is one issue we must address.... Techno and Kengkla's relationship. We can even add Technic in here too!

Everyone who watches Love By Chance have lots of critiques and opinions about this couple. I'm not going to say too much about it until the second season. In this first season, we see a lot of Technic and Kengkla manipulating Techno until the last episode when Kengkla goes overboard and rapes Techno. We really don't see much of the aftermath and Techno's reaction to this, so I'm not going to say too much about it here, other than rape is wrong. I'll write more about their relationship and my thoughts on it in the second season's review.

Ae & Pete

Pete and Ae have the cutest relationship ever! How they get together and navigate their relationship is a definition of ideal first love. They could even be considered couple goals in this season. They had an attraction with each other from the start and they naturally got together. Nothing about this couple felt forced.

At first I was thrown off by how many times Pete had to be saved by Ae since he was literally a damsel in distress and needed to be saved way too many times. I felt like Pete should grow a pair and punch Trump at least once to make it seem realistic, but when we learn that Pete knows more about sex than Ae I gave it a pass. I felt that a typical guy would at least stand up for himself instead of crying all the time, but since Pete seems to be more knowledgeable about sex like a typical man, maybe he's just not confrontational. I also was worried about if they would give Ae a hero complex since he's always saving Pete. I was relieved then they made Ae pure in adult and relationship matters.

Pete and Ae really compliment each other in many ways, so really enjoyed them together. They really are the embodiment of a beautiful first love, so I can not wait to see what will happen to them in the next season.... Is what I want to say, but I've seen the second season, so all I'll say is that I need to read the book so I can understand what is happening between Pete and Ae for the second season. If you haven't seen the second season yet... How do I say this... If you're there to watch Pete and Ae's relationship go read the book first. If you don't you'll be very confused.

Tin & Can

Tin and Can are hilarious. They really have a cat and mouse relationship and they don't know why. Can is just picking a fight with Tin because he simply finds Tin annoying, but he doesn't know why Tin is annoying. Tin on the other hand, is irritated with Can constantly picking a fight with him for no reason, so he just fights back. They don't realize they are getting to know each other better as they fight. They're in each other's throats so often that they can't breathe without each other!

I found Can to be very annoying. He's not naive, he's literally stupid! He has a great heart and is very trusting, but he's stupid. Tin's very smart and he's around people that are trying to deceive him all the time, so I see why he finds Can fascinating. Can is just too stupid to lie and Tin can be himself around Can without being worried about being manipulated. However, I feel like Tin was manipulating Can. He would reveal his life history then claim it's fake to make Can interested in him, but he never really came clean to Can about anything.

The ending between Tin and Can is sad, yet completely understandable. Tin already knew his feelings and wanted to be in a relationship, but Can was still confused about his sexuality and feelings for Tin. Can was dragging Tin along, so I do get why Tin completely cut him off as a friend, but at the same time Tin should have gave Can some time to think about it. He knows Can is not the sharpest tool in the shed, so instead of playing mind games with Can, he should have been upfront about his feelings from the beginning and given Can some time to think. While I do feel a bit sad that Tin got rejected, and it's heart breaking to watch him scream in the shower, I feel no remorse because he played mind games with the person he shouldn't have played mind games with from the beginning.

Tum & Tar (& Type)

I absolutely hate this couple! They drive me insane!! So much pushing and pulling, and to top it off we're never given the complete story on their relationship and Tar's backstory with Tharn. If you want to understand this couple do watch TharnType the Series then come back to watch this. You'll get a better understanding of Tar's history with everyone. However, since I'm only reviewing this series I won't talk too much about TharnType.

Tum and Tar do a lot of pushing and pulling, and the worst part is we don't really know why. Their relationship is slowly explained to us throughout the season, but we're just left hanging for the most part. It sucks because the whole step-sibling relationship is a big taboo subject for many people since many people see it as incest despite not being related by blood. I feel like because of the incest issue and the fact that being gang-raped is a very dark subject, they just glossed over it. I think it also doesn't help that they don't introduce Tharn at all. They just use Type to talk about their backstory and it's not good enough. We never hear about Tar's issues from Tarn or Tar directly, so we spend the whole series wondering what is going on between them.

I also kind of wish they would have shown more interaction between Tum and Tar because Tum spent more time on screen with Type than he did with Tar... And Tum is supposed to be in love with Tar! I didn't see much love between them. All the time they spend on screen is spent with Type trying to not be their middle man. It doesn't even seem like Tar was in love with Tum too. In general I think Tum and Tar need their own series rather than being a side couple in TharnType and Love By Chance. Tum and Tar's backstory is too interesting and complex to be a side couple in the first place.

Kengka & Techno (& Technic)

Oh, boy! I think I already said most of my piece above, but I'll say it again, Kengka and Technic are manipulating jerks! Technic is the worst brother ever! He sells his brother out to Kengkla for no good reason at all. Kengkla on the other hand isn't too annoying if you look at the fact that he's just in love with Techno and is trying to be noticed by him. If they wanted to make Kengkla come off as the guy for Techno, I think they should have shown how kengkla fell in love with Techno first, instead of showing him being a straight up stalker. His first scene is asking for Techno's picture in exchange for a car. I don't see any good points to Kengkla to make it seem like he's the one for Techno. It's ridiculous. And then you have him teaming up with Technic to manipulate Techno? I can't see jealous Kengkla, only obsessed Kengkla. It's sad because I think that's not how his character is supposed to come off as.

Techno is one of my favorite characters, however his character is inconsistent in this series. At first he seems like a smart and normal guy, but when as the series goes on he gets more air-headed. In the morning after being raped by Kengkla, he acts very out of character. Instead of thinking smartly as he is seen doing when he's with Can, Ae, Type, and Champ, he suddenly makes goofy faces and goes dumb. It's really strange. I can imagine the Techno in TharnType being a better fit for this storyline. In fact, while I love Love By Chance's version of Techno, I think the Techno in TharnType is more of a better fit for this Kengkla we see in this series. I think TharnType's Techno would be more oblivious to Kengkla's feelings, and play along more perfectly to Kengkla and Technic's shenanigans, while the Love By Chance Techno would honestly just go out with Kengkla if Kengkla mustered up the courage to ask him and constantly pestered him about it. What do you think?

Pond & Chaam

Pond and Chaam are really an underrated couple. The only heterosexual couple in this series, they barely get screentime, but they are amazing nevertheless. I love how Pond is initially seen as Ae's horny and annoying friend, but through Chaam we see that he's actually a great guy. I also enjoy how through Pond and Chaam's character we learn not to judge people by their cover. It's a cute mini-storyline and I'm glad the main lead's best friend got a girlfriend because it usually doesn't happen in BLs.


OVERALL:

Love By Chance is a great series! It's really cute and fun to watch. I wish they didn't mess it up in Season 2...
Yeah... Don't watch Season 2 unless you are a TinCan fan.....


~~~~~~~~~~ Things to Know Before Watching Love By Chance Season 2 ~~~~~~~~~~


Love By Chance Season 2 is very different from Season 1. Many people skip the second season due to the reasons listed below.

While I think Love By Chance 2 isn't terrible, it is definitely not as good. I would recommend watching it at least once with the following in your mind before watching Season 2. If you go in without knowing the information below, you will be confused.


1. Pete & Ae's Storyline (Time skip and what happens between S1 and S2)

Before watching Season 2, you have to know a few things. First, Perth and Saint, who play Ae and Pete respectively, had a falling out due to Perth's manager. I'm not going to write the whole drama here, so look it up if you want to. It's very sad. Anyways, the long story short is Saint will not be returning to play Pete, so because of that there is a time skip between the first season and second season. Unfortunately things aren't explained well to the audience.

I'll try to summarize what happens during the time skip, but please know that I haven't read the novel too. I'm only writing what other people have said about what happened during the time skip.

After Ae and Pete get together in Love By Chance things are blissful for a while, but unfortunate there are lots of people that want Ae and Pete to break up including Pete's father. He disapproves of their relationship, believing Ae is unsuitable for his son. He wants Pete to come live abroad with him and his new family abroad. Pete’s father starts making life difficult for Pete and his mother until he has no other option but to go with his father. Pete's mom tries to protect Pete and keep him in Thailand, but Pete's father is merciless. Without a choice, Pete signs a contract with his father saying that he will attend university aboard and break up with Ae. It further states that until he graduates from university he will have no contact with Ae. Still in love with Pete, Ae takes care of Pete's mother for 3 years while he's aboard and misses him like crazy. This is where Season 2 picks up.

Also, please note that while Season 2 continues the story of Ae and Pete from that point, it's mostly just Ae's side of the story. There is barely any continuation of their relationship because Saint understandably doesn't want to appear with Perth, so if you want to see how they end, just read the novel... That being said Perth does great acting miserable without Pete, so if you're a Perth fan and want to see his growth as an actor, watch the second season. He's completely different from the happy Ae when Pete's not around.


2. Tin & Can's Storyline (Reset)

Season 1 ends with Tin's confession getting rejected by Can, but in Season 2 they do a restart. Season 2 starts off with Tin and Can not knowing each other despite Ae and Pete already being so far ahead on their relationship. If this sounds confusing... it is.

Basically when you watch Season 2, you need to forget that Tin and Can were in Season 1 and treat them as brand new characters.

Also, they are the only couple to do a reset on their relationship, so all other couples are running on the same timeline as Season 1, but Tin and Can jump back and restart their relationship.


3. Tum & Tar

To fully understand Tum and Tar's storyline you need to watch in this order:
TharnType Season 1 → Love By Chance Season 1 → LBC Season 2

Unfortunately since Tum and Tar don't have their own novel, we don't get to see how Tum fell in love with Tar, or the exact events that happened while Tar was dating Tharn. However, in TharnType, Tar tells us exactly what happened and why things happened. We also get to see the relationship between Tum and Tharn, and why Tum chooses to talk to Type instead of Tharn in Love By Chance.


4. TharnType the Series & Love By Chance the Series

TharnType and Love By Chance are in the same universe. They share the same characters, but most of the characters are played by different actors. Only Kengkla, Pete, and Tin are played by the same actors, but they only make cameos in TharnType. Also because they are played by different actors and since TharnType is a little darker than Love By Chance some character do change personalities based on the series you watch.

Lastly, it doesn't mater which series you watch first, but here is the continuity timeline.

1. TharnType – Tharn, Type, Techno and Tum are all freshmen in university.
2. Love By Chance – Set 3 years after TharnType. Ae, Pete, Tin and Can are freshmen, while Tharn, Type, Techno, and Tum are seniors.
3. Love By Chance 2 – Season 2 is set only a few months after LBC, they are all the same age as before.
4. TharnType 2 – It takes place 7 years after the events of TharnType, so 4 years after the events of LBC. Everyone has graduated university and are all working adults.