Let me start by acknowledging that the manga (at to a lesser extent) the anime based on that manga which was the source material for this BL was extremely problematic. Despite this, I found myself growing attached to the relationship between the two male leads and this show was essentially my introduction to the great world of BL. When I began watching the show I did not even know it was going to be BL, as the Japanese refer to everyone by their last name and I don’t believe there were any pronouns in the anime description on Crunchyroll. Fast-forward about six years and I’ve become practically a BL fanatic. I discovered that I really enjoy queer media in general and have consumed a lot of other gay and lesbian stories as well, but BL unlocked something inside me that I didn’t really understand at the time.
What I really loved about the Thai BL Top Form is that this
adaptation removed the most problematic elements of the story (the only reason
I considered this one to be a guilty pleasure) and kept everything sweet and
wholesome about it. It even told the story in the order I wish it had been told
originally, by starting with their first meeting instead of showing that as a
flashback later. One thing I’ve always hated about Yaoi manga and (sometimes
anime) is the non-con elements that often permeate the media. This is in no way
a condemnation of those who enjoy stories that include this (as it can be a
safe way for people with such fantasies to explore them without getting hurt)
but I’ve never been a fan. Color me shocked when I found myself thoroughly
enjoying the anime Daikaichi in which the top essentially blackmails the bottom
into sleeping with him the first time (it’s worse in the manga since he rapes
him). Over the course of the show, the two become the cutest couple, but that
part always bothered me. Another issue that I had with the show was with the
character of Ayagi (who tries to rape Takato after he gets drunk but changes
his mind only because Takato drunkenly calls for Chunta which is his nickname
for Junta) and how Junta handled the situation after Takato tells him he doesn’t
remember what the two of them did because he was drunk.
When I say Top Form fixed all this, it is the understatement
of the year. First, let’s examine why telling it in chronological order instead
of beginning with their first night together works much better for a healthy
story. In the anime and manga, the first time we meet Takato he has just been
surpassed by Junta as the sexiest man alive and also begun a new working
relationship with his old rival. Starting it here gets us to the sex faster,
but the story-telling suffers because without seeing the depth of connection
they shared after working on that first project together and the way it
impacted Junta in particular, it’s impossible to see their relationship as
being anything more than a fanboy living out his fantasy by finally sleeping
with his idol. Once I saw the episode with their backstory I wondered why the
story had not started there and thought it would have been much better if it
had. I was right. Top Form starts with the original drama (the nature of the
drama is changed for the Thai adaptation, but the heart of it remains the same)
where Jin (Junta) and Akin (Takato) meet for the first time. It is also told
beginning with Jin’s perspective which I appreciated since Akin is a bit of a
Tsundere type which makes it harder to gauge his feelings right away.
Second, Top Form eliminated all the non-con from the main
couple leaving only the attempted rape after Akin gets drunk and Johnny (Ayagi)
leaves a hickey on his neck but stops short of rape after Akin drunkenly calls
for “Jun” which is his nickname for Jin. This helped me to more fully support
the pairing (since the main issue I had with the original was the non-con and
dub-con element) and made the story all the better for it. I still felt the
rage over the scene with Johnny. In the original anime adaptation, I actually
shouted at my screen during the ensuing scene with Junta where he blames Takato
for the molestation because he got drunk and can’t remember what happened. In
Top Form, they keep the essence of devastation that Jin feels without the blame
by having Akin try to hide what happened and refuse to tell Jin that he can’t
remember because he was too drunk. This makes it seem to Jin as if Akin has
cheated on him so his ensuing anger can be seen as justified rather than
inappropriate.
In Top Form, the only one to blame for the incident is
Johnny (who I will never forgive for the sexual assault, he can get bent).
Another change to the story is the addition of the stalker which makes it a bit
more modern since there are fewer paparazzi types than there are fans with
phones taking pictures inappropriately. In the original story, it was a fame
seeking paparazzi who took the photos in the first place, but in this story, he
just capitalized on what the stalker had already done.
If I have one complaint about the series it might be that I
did not feel like the roles were evenly cast. I got a lot out of Akin’s
character with Boom’s (Thai actors all have nicknames that they use in place of
their actual first name for promotion purposes) portrayal whereas I felt Smart
did not give a similarly captivating performance as Jin. I still like it, I
just feel like it could have been better.
In the original Takato’s nickname for Junta is “horny angel”
because he appears sweet and loving on the surface but he’s always dragging
Takato off to the bedroom. The angel wing effect that accompanied Takato’s
exclamations of “horny angel” were kept for this adaptation even though Akin’s
nickname for Jin is “wooden boy” (a reference to his less than stellar acting
when they first met not his constant horniness). I liked the inclusion of the effect
since this version of the character does not always act on his desires but mostly
lets Akin lead the sexual relationship.
All in all, I would give this adaption a 9/10 since I liked
more of the changes than I disliked and Akin was portrayed brilliantly even if
Jin’s character was a bit flat in comparison. It might just be that Smart is
younger and less experienced than Boom (which is also true of their
characters).
