Reviews of Asian BL Series

51 "Marahuyo Project" - Authenticity

Every now and then the Philippines give the world of BL groundbreaking series. "Gameboys" helped people around the world cope with the depressing Covid pandemic, "Gaya Sa Pelikula", one of the best BL series ever, encouraged closeted people to come out, the completely underrated "Ben x Jim Forever" gave a voice to people from all colours of the rainbow, and the story of Eli and Nikko in "The Day I Loved You" touched the hearts of viewers.

All these series have great scripts, creative cinematography, good directing, excellent acting, and beautiful soundtracks, but aside from all this, what makes them so worth watching is authenticity and a clear message. "Marahuyo Project" continues this tradition, and like most of the aforementioned series it isn't a typical BL, but rather a queer series.

I won't spoil too much of the plot here – just so much: King (Adrian Lindayag), an openly gay student, is expelled from his college and sent to a college in a conservative town on "Marahuyo", a remote island. He wants to launch an LGBTQIA+ club at his new college, but the students' president Ino (Neo France Garcia) blocks his demand at first. Ino, the son of the most influential family of the town, carries the burden of his homophobic family heritage on his shoulders, but of course he falls for King – that's the BL element of the series.

The climax of the story is a "Balagtasan", a kind of traditional poetry slam, where King and Ino take the respective sides of "mind" and "heart". This isn't the only poetic moment – poetry actually plays an important role in the story, as the wealth and influence of Ino's family, and thus all of the island of Marahuyo, is based on the plagiarism of a gay poet's work.

Readers may want to know whether this series has a happy ending, and I'm happy to say that it has no ending at all, because after the final episode viewers will want to know how the story of the "Sea Creatures" continues. So, season 2 is a must! But rest assured - it isn't a sad ending either.

The script finds exactly the right balance of comedy, drama, and tragedy. Sometimes sad and dramatic scenes are followed by pure comedy, which never ridicules any of the characters, but gives viewers the opportunity to relax from the deep thoughts that were uttered a moment before.

Characters in BL series are often one-dimensional, but here the sensitive characterization of all the protagonists makes their behaviour and gradual development understandable. They are drafted in a way that time and time again I caught myself thinking, "yes, I know a guy who's exactly like him/her". Coming of age and coming out are hard times in the lives of LGBTQIA+ people, and the wonderful characters in this series arouse understanding for their struggles.

In some series, the supporting characters are mere supplements, but in "Marahuyo Project", they all have something to contribute to the story. Venice (Ian Villa) is a smart, sensitive, courageous and joyous transgender person who becomes King's best friend. Archi (AJ Sison) is torn between the priest's plan for him to become a priest and his homosexuality, Lori (Noor Hooshmand) likes Lili (Yani Villarosa), who is unvoluntarily outed as intersex, which she has been hiding all her life. Marco (Ryle Santiago) is a homophobic bully and as such the only "simple" character.

The interactions of these characters display in a relatable way the fears and struggles of various LGBTQIA+ people living in a hostile environment, and it's good that this happens without too much "preaching".

The setting in a town on the sea – the series was shot in the Mindoro town of Sablayan - provides the cinematographer with lots of opportunities for beautiful shots. The technical quality of the series as a whole is well above the average of Filipino BL. Underwater scenes are difficult to shoot, but they managed it very well here.

Like in many Pinoy BL series (even in many low budget ones), the soundtrack is beautiful – it is never intrusive, but matches the atmosphere in the respective scenes. The title melody is an earwom, which reminds me of the "Ben x Jim Forever" title song.

With all the positive things I've said about script, directing, etc., let me now come to the point that is the most important to me – the cast. Because what use would a good script be without actors and actresses who are up to their job? I can only say that this cast is phenomenal.

Let's start with Adrian Lindayag, a natural as an actor, who already showed his huge talent in the series "Love beneath the Stars" and the movie "The Boy Foretold by the Stars". His acting in "Marahuyo Project" seems a little OTT at the beginning, but after a short time I wondered if he was still playing or if he was really being Adrian. His acting is so real that he personifies King perfectly, and it seems there isn't any state of mind he cannot express.

Neo France Garcia is much younger than Adrian, and a rookie as far as I know, but his talent appears to be no lesser. You believe Ino from the start that under the cold surface of the Students' President a warm heart is beating, and he is able to display his character's reluctant development very well.

What can I say about Ian Villa? Of course his character is meant to come across very positively, but the way he changes from the guy who always knows a joke to tell or some nonsense to make, to the serious advisor to his friends, is simply fantastic. It's a pleasure watching him, and like Adrian and Neo France, I would call Ian a natural as an actor.

The fourth in this row of naturals is AJ Sison who has a surprising presence even in scenes where the attention isn't focused on him, and the scene where Archi talks openly with Venice is an emotional highlight of the entire series.

Noor Hooshmand and Yani Villarosa are both talented actresses who succeed in conveying their characters' struggles, and thus make them significant. Ryle Santiago is the personification of the bad guy with the handsome face – disgusting as his character is, it's very hard to look the other way when he appears on the screen. There's only one little thing to complain: I must confess that I'm a fan of Tommy Alejandrino, so I would have loved to see more of him.

The adult characters are played by experienced actors, among them Sue Prado (Ino's mother), who also played Cairo's mum in "Gameboys".

It is a truism that only a good director is able to make his actors perform at their very best level, and if you've watched "Gaya Sa Pelikula" and "Meet me Ouside" ( if you haven't watched them, I can only recommend you to do this), you know that JP Habac falls into this category of directors.

I don't usually like inner monologues and "fourth wall addresses", but in this show they are used carefully and appropriately.

Now you may ask if I don't have anything to criticize about this series? Well, I actually don't, because I think this is one of the best Pinoy BL series ever made (although, as I said before, it isn't exactly a BL series), and I want to say kudos to cast and crew for creating this masterpiece.

One word about the credits: it is rare that there are 5 minutes of credits after 25-minute episodes, but I am glad that for once everybody who's contributed to the production is really mentioned. All the people of the crew are important, and so are the extras, which is sometimes forgotten.

All in all, it's been a pleasure watching this authentic, important, funny, and at the same time deep series. It's a piece of art.

Country: Philippines (2024)

Episodes: 8 (à ca. 30 mins.)

Director: JP Habac

Cast: Adrian Lindayag, Neo France Garcia, Ian Villa, AJ Sison, Noor Hooshmand, Yani Villarosa et al.