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mephistopheleswasrobbed · 1 month ago

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On the similarities and differences between Ossan's Love (2018) and Ossan's Love Thailand

[Ep 1; Ep 2; Ep 3; Ep 4; Ep 5]

(disclaimer: I have watched all of the Haruta + Maki version of OL [Ossan's Love, Ossan's Love: LOVE or DEAD, Ossan's Love Returns] except for the specials which I haven't gotten around to, and I've watched the airport AU season Ossan's Love: In the Sky. I haven't watched the original one shot episode and the Hong Kong version.)

(disclaimer #2: This is just for fun. I'm not intending to make any statements over which version is superior or anything like that in this post. If you noticed something I missed please let me know so I can add it! I only rewatched ep 1 of the Japanese version for this post.)

For the sake of my lazieness I will use Tv for Thai version and Jv for Japanese Version.

Okay I don't really know how to structure this so I'll just go scene by scene of the Tv (with Jv scenes that happen later/not at all in the Tv in italics):

Intro Office (Dream):

The first scenes of both versions are quite similar down to the way they are shot as a one-take and the order the characters are introduced. The music was also clearly chosen/written as an homage to the Jv which also has character cards for all of the main characters introduced (name, age, position) that the Tv left out. The Jv is not a dream though, so while Haruta appears quite cool walking down the hallway, his abysmal sales record is already shown here.

Intro Mother:

The Tv introduces Heng's mother a little earlier, this scene does not exist in the Jv although her complaints about H's inability to take care of himself at his age also appear in her introduction scene in the Jv. (small difference: Heng is 30, Haruta 33)

Intro Office (Reality):

This scene still maps onto the first of the Jv but there are some new things added. The Boss doesn't scold Haruta in the Jv and the office proposal/Irene as a character are inventions by the Tv.

Intro Restaurant Siblings:

Another new scene, no Irene in the Jv -> no need to mope over her engagement. Instead of this scene the Jv has a mixer scene that was apparently entirely cut from the Tv (though did appear in the pilot trailer) and we see the Boss celebrating his 30th anniversary with his wife at the same restaurant. Of note for the Jv are: (1) Maro(New Year) sabotages Haruta by telling him the women are flight attendants when they aren't, then joins in making fun of him. (2) This is the first meeting of Haruta and Maki in the Jv

The Morning After:

H is woken up by his mother in both versions though Haruta at least made it inside the house. The monk is obviously an addition from the Tv. For the Jv this is the first introduction of the mother so we get a little more complaints from her, otherwise it plays out pretty similarly.

Train Ride:

The Jv takes place in a bus instead and theres a false accusation of sexual harrassment leveled at Haruta that the Tv chose to leave out. The 'Boss giving H another chance to prove himself' conversation already happened in the intro office scene in the Jv. The screen discovery happens pretty much the same way, but the Boss getting off at the wrong stop was a new addition from the Tv.

"You saw":

This scene happens a little later in the Jv, after Haruta saw the pictures on his pc so it's mostly in reference to those pics. Also this scene happens in the toilet in the Jv.

Intro Momo:

Instead of the "You saw" scene we get some office action (of note: Maro blames Haruta for his mistake) before Maki is introduced to the whole team in the Jv. The Tv only has the main three present for this introduction. The meet cute bumping into each other is an addition from the Tv. Both Hs are excited to be working with a familiar face though the familiarity is different. Haruta and Maki only having met at the mixer the night before while Heng and Momo worked together during their probation period eight years previously. The Jv has Maki move from a different department (different office but still Tokyo) while Momo in the Tv transferrs from a different city (Chiang Mai). Both M's are shown to be successful at their job, Boss says this about Maki in this scene in the Jv, while we learn it for Momo in a flash back later.

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Picture discovery:

This is when Haruta discovers his pictures in the Jv. It's only Haruta who sees them in this version. (There is a play on his name here: Haruta -> haru (spring in Japanese) -> folder named "Spring", he was told to get the data for the spring quater. I don't know any Thai so I can't say if there was a similar thing in the Tv though the subtitles didn't hint at anything)

"You saw":

This is when the previously discussed "You saw" scene happens in the Jv.

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Out with Momo:

Instead of handing out snacks to staff/clients of the Tv, they are distributing flyers in the Jv. Both versions have H give M useful tips though. Namwan is quite different from her Japanese counterpart. In the Jv the building manager is a middle-aged lady who tries to set Haruta up on a blind date with a big woman only for Haruta to correct her that he wants a woman with big boobs, not one that's generally big. Heng's belief that Namwan has a crush on him is potentially inspired by a later line from the Jv where he drunkenly claims to Maki that Chizu(Chicha) is in love with him. Namwan trying to get Momos number is an addition from the Tv. Taweep the cleaning lady is an addition from the Tv/ the Jv building manager (+ some passerbys on the street) was split into Namwan and her. In both versions this is where H is shown to be quite kind and generally getting along with people. Momo's allusions to the past are, of course, exclusive to the Tv.

Called Away:

In the Jv Haruta gets called to a clients house where Maro has made a mess by being rude. Meanwhile Maki keeps distributing the flyers. In the Tv they both head to the office because New Year is too busy to make his own presentation.

Office After Hours:

In the Jv Haruta heads to the office alone after cleaning up Maro's mess. He discovers Boss leaving him long comments in his reviews which he doesn't do for others. In the Tv both Heng and Momo are in the office together and this is where they both discover the pictures on Boss's notebook. Then Boss arrives, and sends away Momo in the Tv. Both Bosses take of their jackets though the Jv Boss also closes the blinds and takes some pills. H runs away and Boss follows shouting his name in both versions, both end with H in the elevator and Boss texting him his real intentions. (Tv: to give him the file, Jv: to make him aware of the cleaning tag on his suit) Momo in the elevator and everything that comes with it is an invention of the Tv.

Mother left:

The Jv mother only leaves a single note to explain her absence (she plans to open a store with a guy Haruta doesn't know about) instead of Heng searching for her in the Tv, the Jv shows a small montage of Haruta being unable to do anything in the house (he doesn't even know where the toilet paper is).

Back at the Reastaurant:

This is the first introduction to the restaurant and the siblings in the Jv. In the Jv we learn that Chizu quit her job after she was told to apologize for hitting a client that harrassed her (neither Haruta nor her brother Teppei take this particularily seriously). This was cut from the Tv. Heng stealing tissues is a new addition in the Tv. In both, the brother brings up marriage but only in the Tv mentions a childhood marriage promise, in the Jv Haruta suggests Chizu marry him. Chizu in the Jv shuts him down because she wants to marry a butler who will do all of the house work. Chicha in the Tv because she's not been single since grade 2. Instead Heng is the one who says he doesn't want to marry her because he wants a perfect housewife. In the Jv Haruta tries to order some food but Teppei already closed the kitchen. In the Tv Thua-ngok presents them with his latest meal creation. The creative food combinations of the brother do also appear in the Jv but not yet in the first episode.

Inviting Momo:

In the Tv Momo waits in front of Heng's house to help him with the presentation, in the Jv Haruta just runs into Maki on the street who had been distributing the rest of the flyers until then. Momo asks Heng about affordable accomodation while Maki just mentions that he hasn't found anything so far (Maki living in a weekly rental for now, Momo with his aunt). In the Tv Momo brought some home-cooked food for Heng which leads to Heng finding out he can cook while Maki in the Jv just carries some fresh groceries with him which leads to the same discovery. Both H's offer M to move in, though Maki in the Jv doesn't take it as a joke, Haruta also explains more (like his mother moving out). Maki says he'll think about it and then we see him move in a few days later while the Tv doesn't show any details after Heng's proposal.

Office Bragging + "New Mom" Montage:

The framing device for the montage as Heng telling it to his coworkers is unique to the Tv. In the Jv it just happens after Maki moves in. The montage itself contains some scolding on Maki's part while Momo just smiles happily at Heng's antics (though he's also not quite as disgustingly messy as Haruta). Haruta also doesn't call Maki his "new mom" in the Jv. The bragging to coworkers and all that comes with it like Heng's impromptu marriage proposal are inventions of the Tv. In the Jv only Haruta and Maki sit at a table together eating their homemade lunch while Haruta tries to convince Maki to go halfsies on a VR set (to watch porn). In the Jv Haruta catches the Boss watching them through the blinds in his office while in the Tv everyone is busy with each other while the Boss stands off to the side and spills his coffee all over his hand in jealousy.

Boss is Married

In both versions H finds out about Boss being married from Maika/Meow although in the Jv there is only one cutaway to Boss and his wife out on a date she witnessed while in the Tv we cut twice to Boss and his daughter visiting the late wife's grave. The Boss's wife being dead and him having a daughter instead are not inventions by the Tv though, the same thing was the case in the airport AU season of the Jv. Both Hs take this information to mean that they must have been mistaken about Boss's feelings.

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Boss's Confession:

In the Jv Boss confesses here already, he does so after telling Haruta to meet him at a park.

Telling Chizu:

Then there follows a scene where Haruta tells Chizu about it. She teases him, tells him he should be happy anyone loves him at all and that she's rooting for his boss. The Tv counterpart to this scene will probably happen in EP2 judging by the preview.

Chizu + Maki First Meeting:

Chizu dumps off a drunk Haruta at his Home. She introduces herself to Maki (this is where the aforementioned line from Haruta about her being in love with him happens) and tells him that Haruta is confused because of an unexpected confession then leaves. Maki drags drunk Haruta to the sofa who tells him to get something from his bag. It's a multiple page manual he made for Maki with handwritten/-drawn notes about customers etc. Maki is touched by this.

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Poster Mistake:

In the Jv Haruta makes the mistake himself (wrong map), again Maro is quite mean about it. In the Tv New Year makes the mistake (wrong QR code) Heng just didn't check it properly. Takegawa/Ten is mad at H in both versions. In the Jv Boss comes in to make an encouraging speech and divide tasks, while in the Tv only Ten, New Year, Meow and Heng are present for this discussion and decide the course of action themselves. New Year offering to resign is an invention by the Tv although possibly insired by an offhand remark in the Maki intro scene where Maika tells Haruta to be nice to Maro lest he quit to which Maro agrees.

Poster Correction:

In the Tv Momo helps Heng put the correct sticker over the posters, in the Jv Boss helps him (he sent everyone else off on other tasks). Haruta is awkward alone with Boss and tells him he can finish the rest by himself, Boss leaves. In the Tv this reminds Momo of the past which leads to:

Probation Period Flashback:

Since Jv Haruta and Maki don't have history the entire flashback is a new invention by the Tv. It serves to remind the audience of Heng's kindness and intuitive understanding of other people and to show why/when Momo first developed feelings for Heng. We also learn that Momo has an accent/dialect that slips out sometimes which people made fun of him for, and gets tipsy easily.

Mascot trouble:

In the Tv another problem emerges on site of the company event when the mascot actor can't be contacted, again this was kind of New Years mistake which gets blamed on Heng because he delegated too difficult tasks to the newbie, again New Year offers to resign. Boss makes an inspiring speech, Heng offers to wear the costume himself. None of this happens in the Jv as Haruta was supposed to wear the costume from the beginning. Boss still gives a bit of a speech though because his coworkers are bitching about Haruta.

Boss's Rescue:

The mascot dancing and then trying to warn Boss through the medium of mime are inventions by the Tv. The rescue itself happens pretty much the same way in both versions though.

In the Hospital:

Both versions have Boss and M overhearing the nurses talking about "him being so young" and coming to the wrong conclusion although in the Jv there's also a doctor who assures Boss he "did all he could". In the Jv Maki finds Heng first and is the only one present for the cognitive function test reveal (Tv: IQ like middle schooler, Jv: brain like 85yo). Both Ms shove their Hs for worrying them, though Maki is a little bit more emotional about it. At that point in the Tv Boss sends Momo away, saying he wants to talk to Heng alone and Momo leaves. In the Jv Boss comes in and is clearly very emotionally affected so Haruta asks Maki to give them a moment alone and Maki leaves. Both Bosses proceed to fall to their knees in front of H and hug him. In the Jv all of this happens in a private room so Haruta is worried about someone walking in on them like this while in the Tv it happens in a common ward in full view of everyone anyway. Both Hs pet Boss to calm him though Jv on the head and Tv on the back, both contemplative.

Momo Remembers Jealousy:

In the Tv we see Momo at home drinking a beer which turns into a flashback of their probation passing celebration at Chicha's restaurant. We learn here that Momo was best in class and got recruited to Chiang Mai, which he accepted because he thought there was something between Heng and Chicha and he wanted distance. Then we cut back to present Momo being annoyed at the memory. All of this is Tv original material however we do get in the Jv: (1) Maki going through the notes Boss left Haruta in his reviews while Haruta is in the shower and being annoyed (2) Boss at home asking his wife to divorce him and her being completely shocked and then thinking there is another woman.

Boss's Confession:

In the Tv Boss drives Heng home and then confesses to him outside his house, spurred on by almost losing Heng that day. In the Jv this confession already happened earlier as mentioned before. Aside from the circumstances the confessions are pretty similar including Boss stating that he wanted to take this to the grave originally (mind changed because Jv: Haruta found pictures Tv: Heng almost died), H protesting about Boss being married and Boss asking H to give him some time to sort things out on his end and thanking H while H is stunned speechless. Differences: Jv: Boss planned this so he brought a big bouquet of roses, he bows 90° in front of Haruta and runs away afterwards Tv: no roses because spontaneous, Boss tells Heng his wife died 10 years ago (to which Heng reacts with the stupidest little awkward asshole shrug in what has become the funniest moment of the episode to me since I was made aware of it by a twitter user), Boss clutches Heng's hands in his, Boss runs away by car instead of foot. H's reactions after Boss has left are basically opposite. Jv's Haruta does his usual over the top reaction silently screaming in the middle of the park while Tv's Heng is more stunned into stillness, looking like he almost faints and clinging to his inhaler like it's the only thing keeping him upright.

Momo's Shower Confession:

In the Tv Momo catches Heng coming in looking pale. Momo is even more annoyed and keeps drinking his beer. He comes into the bathroom while Heng is still in the shower but stays to brush his teeth anyway. He saw a bit of the end of Boss's confession, asks Heng about Boss. Heng eventually tells him Boss confessed, Momo plays it cool, learns that Heng is single and his issue with Boss's confession is that Boss is a guy. Momo remembers their moment 8 years prior, gets mad and decides to throw caution to the wind. All of this is Tv original. In the Jv Haruta only asks Maki to bring him a towel. Then both Ms burst into the shower, confess their feelings and kiss H. Differences: Jv: Maki starts with he likes Haruta, then tells him he knows Haruta likes big boobs but what about a big cock before kissing him. Haruta pushes him away pretty quickly, the shower runs the whole time. We end on them looking at each other. Tv: Momo starts by asking why men can't date each other, Heng thinks he likes Boss, Momo corrects he likes Heng, tells Heng he wont lose him to anyone this time and kisses him. Heng doesn't push Momo away but is equally stunned. The shower turned off when Momo first came in, Heng turns it back on as he's getting kissed (and kind of blows bubbles against Momo's lips). We end on the kiss.

General thoughts:

both versions have voice over internal monologue from H, but Jv does it a little more especially towards the beginning

if Heng exists in day to day at an 11 Haruta does at a 35, Heng falls a little more toward cute in his childishness compared to Haruta falling more towards annoying/infuriating

Boss appears somewhat more creepy in the Jv before his confession compared to the Tv

Jv's Maki is a lot less smitten with Haruta than Tv's Momo

Jv's Maro was kind of an asshole at the beginning while Tv's New Year seems relatively sweet so far

both versions are over the top physical comedy but the Jv is a way more extreme example while the Tv adjusted it down a bit to suit the more typical Thai style of comedy, in the Jv we get intercut imagery like a waterbottle spilling while Haruta finds the photos on Boss's computer, in the Tv we get a whole smorgasbord of sound effects. Both are edited with many quick cuts, again the Jv dialed up to 100.

Tv is a lot more bright and colourful than the more muted colours of the Jv

most actors appear slightly younger than their Jv counterparts (because gmmtv obviously has their own actors and they are mostly not that old) most noteworthy: Boss (55 in the Jv, no number for the Tv but Shahkrit is 46 currently) and Takegawa/Ten (44 in Jv, Thor is currently 28)

Momo gets more screentime/character exploration from the beginning compared to Maki. In the Jv the distribution leaned more heavily towards Haruta and Boss (the only constant characters/actors through all iterations of the Jv) with Maki feeling more like the third in this regard. The Tv increased Momo's presence and exploration, pushing the Boss into position of the third lead in this regard.

Biggest story changes so far: - Boss's wife is dead (like In the Sky) - Boss has a daughter (like In the Sky) - Momo and Heng knew each other previously, Momo has preexisting feelings for Heng

#ossan's love thailand #ossan's love th #ossan's love #personal opinion: I really enjoy both versions so far partially for the same reasons partially for different ones #some things seem to have been updated to fit more into the current zeitgeist which is good imo even if it cost us an iconic meme line #i'm really excited to see how the changes will affect the story further down the line/ what other changes they've made #the jv first season had only 7 eps still most of the content of the first episode happend in the first tv episode so they must have added #a lot to get to 12 eps (whatever happens in lampang for example will probably be mostly original content i suspect)#it will be interesting to see if they drew ideas from the movie or returns and more ideas from the au season

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not-poignant · 1 year ago

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@morbidlizard replied to your post “Can I ask, why do you love BL romance better than...”:

I mean it's unfortunate but asian BL is just hands down better than western for so many reasons <: / I've been reading asian BL for literal decades now (AHHH) and I can maybe count on one hand the western series I've enjoyed that had some sort of queer romance that had all I wanted or at least a part of the tropes I like...And even then, it's usually F/F relationships 9_9 (and when I say asian, I mean japanese, korean, chinese, some indonesian too! etc etc...)

Actually yeah this is also really where it's at

I think a lot about how we're still getting extremely like... milquetoast wholesome queer narratives (most of the time) in western m/m romance media (I have nothing against Heartstopper, but it's extremely 'all queer people are pure wholesome need-to-be-protected jellybeans' and like, cool, but I want more than that as well - like give me 20 shows that are 'all queer people' in 20 different genres, thanks. BL will give me that - BL will pay people to give me that.

The only way I can get that from western media is fanfiction, and sometimes - kind of - from published m/m, when it's not paint-by-numbers rapid release that isn't about telling stories from the heart and it's about telling stories from the bank account instead (which is a valid reason to write, it's just not what I'm looking for as a reader - most readers who end up loving and writing fanfiction aren't looking for this imho)).

Thomas Baudinette is actually doing incredible work in this area of Media Studies, where it's literally a known thing that BL - particularly in countries like Korea, Thailand and Taiwan - is actually taking huge strides ahead in the genre, comparatively, especially when up against western BL.

It almost feels like we're on a giant lag, buffering behind them, and about the only place we aren't is in fanfiction, which makes sense, because the cross-pollination between fandom and south-east Asian BL is incredible (literally, they got omegaverse and guide-verse from western fanfiction and western fandom, and imho are doing a lot more with it for money than we are, see: Pit Babe).

I've been reading up pretty heavily into Baudinette's work, and also a lot of the recent and up-to-date work in BL Studies (a thing), and like, it's just kind of fascinating the different interrogations of BL we have going on in different cultures and subcultures, and how different senses of place and culture and ethnicity and minority and belonging can influence our tales, along with many different manifestations of capitalisation, economy, influence etc.

And that isn't to say there aren't huge problematic areas for BL in all countries, not just western, I can critique western BL so easily because I am western, and it's been really interesting reading critiques of BL from academics who live within other countries from their perspectives too. But I do think if I want really great BL romances, turning to fanfiction and then turning to other cultures and what they're doing is often the first thing I do. I just don't have to search as hard to find what I'm looking for. And like, I'm lazy, lol, I don't want to search through 100 published works to find like 1-5 stories I might reread but not over my favourite manhwa or like fanfiction or whatever.

This has been my area of like... personal study for a few months now (literally reading Regimes of Desire: Young Gay Men, Media and Masculinity in Tokyo by Baudinette atm) and I have a lot of thoughts of which this is just a very generalised ramble and not actually anything of great meaning but like sadkljfas TL;DR yeah

#morbidlizard #idk how to categorise this but #pia on media studies #i do think it's really incredible that we get Pit Babe in part because #western fanfiction exists #what korea and thailand and other countries are doing with omegaverse #i just think hollywood and indie movie studios in the west are fucking cowards #run largely by puritanical evangelistic supremacists #and that other countries are seeing that actually omegaverse could spin them a LOT of money #in the mass media #already #absolutely wild

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