The unspoken world of bars, guns, knives and mysterious shy boys is the one that the new Boys’ Love drama “My Dear Gangster Oppa” consists of. Like “KinnPorsche”, the drama is as simple as a man taking stock of the different cuts and bruises running down his body; you could miss it at first. But instead the storyline focuses on a shy college student named Guy (Ping Krirttanun) in love with his best IRL friend Wahl (Winner Tanatat). Then there is the tall, attractive Tew(Meen Nichakoon), a bar owner with beautiful hosts and a man of few words. The dichotomy of the two characters & their lives shouldn’t work. With fully C.G.I. rendered game play of the massive online game they play along with their online friends, it’s clear the two storylines, the people and situations that populate them blend into each other and that is the world of “My Dear Gangster Oppa”. A unique take on the webtoon “My Ideal Relationship” by Ken.

Guy and Tew share a shyness universal to people-pleasing individuals and its that shyness that makes both characters relatable. With a snappy script, we get a bird’s eye view into both character’s worlds; see the way both characters act with different characters. Whether its the sheepish way Guy is with Wahl or Tew’s stoic expressions in the presence of his mafia coworkers and Big Boss. Both unknowingly shed those masks of unapproachable armor in each other’s presence or when Guy trys to match the bar owner over shots of soju (he loses in the most adorable way). Or Tew afraid of meeting their online guild in person for the first time and buying a cake from a bakery. As Guy points out, when he met Tew, the man spoke very little, but after spending time with him, Tew spoke a lot more than a few words. The script never fails to create emotion as we watch the way both characters deal with the different circumstances that their lives throw at them.

Set to subtle sound effects (that are never overpowering), the emotions are easily conveyed in moments, the viewers may never have experienced. With a lovely and bouncy soundtrack to lead viewers into which emotion to feel as they watch the two shy men “stare”. And ohhhhh do they just stare sometimes while their inner monologs play just for just the viewer to experience. Like when Tew learns that Guy didn’t dream about whales after sleeping on his chest (not sexual or romantic even, Guy got super drunk and held Tew passively hostage) while talking about whales in his sleep. Tew is told that “whales” really meant “Wahl”. Tew internally thinks how Guy views Wahl as more than a friend with a tone of jealousy. The scene is so subtle and I had to watch it twice to fully get it. Which made me re-watch the episode in total to see all that was hidden (I’m not always the most observant person) details.

This is why I greatly enjoyed the colorful world of “My Dear Gangster Oppa”. Yes, there are a lot of funny moments, but when it’s serious it’s down right dangerous. Like when the host is entertaining three men at once and one of them shoves his face into her breast as he demands “milk”, only to be rescued by Tew. I didn’t expect that level of harassment to be shown in this lighthearted BL, but having it happen so early set a tone for the show where pretty much anything was possible. It’s a really needed aspect of a show to see the ceiling and have a show slam through it with the content. Is it always cute? Not by any means. Tew’s crazed mafia coworker pulls a gun on him in an act of lunacy because the man Tew beat up was the son of a mafia higher up and he took the punishment when Tew couldn’t be reached. But Tew is so unphased he just sighs.

The show rides the line between comedy and drama perfectly through the first two episodes. The pacing is on point and the chemistry between the two leads kept me wondering- does Guy know he’s FLIRTING in those texts (that were translated to English for us international fans. Thank God!!♡). Because this is probably the cutest show I’ve seen all year and I never say that.

Watch “My Dear Gangster Oppa” on IQIYI.

Rating- 5 out of 5 (for being perfect)