Caution: Do not watch this on an empty stomach.

Based on the manga Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga, Baker Boys is the Thai adaptation of the manga. The manga has had several adaptations with the most famous one being the Korean adaptation with the same name.

Baker Boys tries to tell the story of trauma and how the characters eventually overcome trauma with the help of desserts. Be it anything, from baking to eating. The whole experience is therapeutic. The four main characters have their own personal struggles but they communicate and then work on it with the help of each other and sweets. Their bond will win your heart. Even though they came together because this bakery, we can see that their relationship matured in very little time. They fight, argue, curse each other only to be united again in no time. It is all in good spirit. They prove time and again that they are a family no matter what and that they will stay with each other.

Punn (Lee Thanat) proves to be the best boss repeatedly. He is caring in a nonchalant way, he understands everybody, takes care of their needs. He does not treat them differently, he even opens his own home for his coworkers to stay, which proves how protective and caring he is towards them. But the more handsome he is, the more he creeps the female customers. His line, “Please take a photo with me”, though funny but is annoying. Which I think is intentional. Maybe he is just weird around women. It also irked me that he kept accepting challenges from shady people. I understand they were important for character development. But, accept challenges from a person who has already said out loud that he plans to destroy you?

Weir’s (Singto Prachaya) character though does not feel like the ‘gay conqueror’ and is very cute. He is supposed to be ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’ but he rarely seems that way. Mostly he is like a cute kitten who you just cannot ignore. His winks hit home. Pooh (Foei Patara), who is supposed to be a bodyguard and protector of sorts for Punn, is just very bad at his job. He is anxious and scared most of the time but he does what needs to be done. His reactions and body language are very hopelessly funny. His character is so pure you would want to protect him from the bad of the world, which is not very ‘bodyguardy’ of him. (he was drinking a strawberry milkshake in a bar for crying out loud). He does prove to be the best father though. In this job, he didn’t disappoint.

Krathing (Pluem Purim) on the other hand is much needed young blood in the team. His character is honest and the most realistic. Another important character worth mentioning is Mone (Jamie Juthapich), without her there would not be much plot left.

I would not call Baker Boys a BL. More like it had a main character who was gay, but there was not much focus on that element. I was expecting the series to be about missing children and some murder mystery. But it had many other stories jumbled in which made things confusing. In fact, there were two different kidnapping stories. Sometimes the personal conflicts of the characters would disturb the main plot.

But things do get boring after a while. The plot twists are predictable. Even though they were not treating trauma lightheartedly, it does take time for people to overcome it. So some parts of the series seemed too unrealistic with the treatment of it. For example when Punn forgives Tert. Although I do love this line by Punn, “People who make amends are different from people who make excuses. You have to make the decision who you want to keep in your life.”

All in all, Baker Boys is a drama that is visually pleasing. From the antique cafe to the desserts that they make, everything looks aesthetic and beautiful. Even the packaging is pretty. The other thing that is good about the show is the comic relief. Some good jokes and some dumb ones make it a good series to watch. But there is no re-watch value. If you want to watch a light-hearted comedy with some (very little) murder mystery vibes, this is the show for you. But do not jump in with high expectations.

Rating- 3 out of 5