Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The first episode of the Thai series “My Love Mix-Up” sets a fun tone for the high-school romantic comedy starring Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul and Gemini Norawit Titicharoenrak as leads Atom and Kongthap. It starts with Atom narrating a school legend about how writing down your crush’s name on an eraser can manifest into a real relationship. This is a small deviation from the original series, which features a mix-up over an eraser without any legend attached. Atom has a crush on the cute Mudmee (Pahn Pathitta Pornchumroenrut), but when she lends him her eraser with Kongthap’s name on it, Kongthap spots it and thinks Atom likes him. This leads to a lot of comedic confusion and new romances.
Directed by Au Kornprom Niyomsil, the Thai show is based on the Japanese manga by Wataru Hinekure and Aruko. I absolutely loved the Japanese version of “My Love Mix-Up!” (Kieta Hatsukoi – 消えた初恋 ) featuring Mishieda Shunsuke and Meguro Ren as the lead pair. Mishieda Shunsuke was pitch-perfect with his body-humour and expressions as the lead Aoki (Atom in the Thai version), which made the show hilarious. And while the Thai “My Love Mix-Up” also starts on an entertaining note, promising to be a funny romantic comedy, it eventually pales out in front of its Japanese counterpart.
Spanning 12 episodes, “My Love Mix-Up” takes the basic plot of the Manga and makes several tweaks in the storyline to cater to Thai audience. These changes have both their pros and cons, while the changes offer a fresh perspective for viewers who’ve already seen the Japanese version, so it’s not as predictable, at the same time, it’s not as funny. I think a lot of viewers might not like the fact that the Thai creators made Kongthap have a pet cat instead of a dog. The primary premise focuses on how Atom tries to clear the air with Kongthap, but the more two of them interact with each other, Atom finds himself falling in love with Kongthap. He also learns that Mudmee likes Half (Chokun Puttipong Jitbut) and not Kongthap, so the two form an ‘eraser alliance’ to help each other win their crushes over.
Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul delivers a hit-and-miss performance as Atom, which I could not help but compare with Michieda Shunsuke’s riotous portrayal of the lead character in the Japanese “My Love Mix-Up”. Atom is supposed to be a confused, under-confident, easily scared, silly goofball, and Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul has a naturally confident body language that doesn’t fully complement his character. Of course he is cute, bright, and entertaining in parts, but the heart of the character – Atom’s overactive imagination and reactions – is missing. Kongthap’s character is more straightforward; he is an introverted, serious, top student, so Gemini Norawit Titicharoenrak has an easier time slipping into the character’s skin. While Fourth emerged as the stronger actor in their debut series “My School President”, Gemini was maybe more convincing in his character for “My Love Mix-up”, although sometimes his delivery was stiff and off the mark.
Pahn Pathitta Pornchumroenrut is quite endearing as Mudmee, and her romantic pursual of Half is mildly fun, although Chokun Puttipong Jitbut’s portrayal of Half didn’t have any zing. Sure, the two of them look super cute together, but the chemistry was quite off the mark. Instead, Mudmee and Atom’s friendship is a lot more fun to watch through the runtime. The cinematography is colorful, engaging, with an upbeat soundtrack, however, a lot of the product-placements in the show were ridiculously loud and could’ve been more subtle. I feel like the decision to have a cat in the show instead of a dog was because the creators landed an endorsement with a cat-food company.
While at first, I was excited that the Thai version was longer, the last few episodes begin to feel like a drag. Overall, “My Love Mix-Up” is a light, high-school themed romantic comedy, which doesn’t serve big laughs, but is a decent one-time watch.
Rating: 6 on 10. You can watch “My Love Mix-Up” on YouTube.
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