Big Dragonis a spicy Thai BL series about two enemies feuding over a sex tape. The main character clashes with his university rival as they compete for a female classmate's attention. Driven by desperation, the protagonist devises a nasty plot. He plans to film his opponent during a sexual encounter and use the camera footage to blackmail him. Their volatile relationship develops over threats, manipulation, and unexpected passion.
As you may have deduced, Big Dragon is a sleazy BL drama with toxic characters and problematic storylines. The twisted plot is fascinating in a trashy way. The production also delivers stunning visuals. However, I can't recommend it for various reasons. Putting aside the morality issue with the sex tape, this series suffers from amateurish writing. The romance develops clunkily, forcing the lead couple together when they should hate each other.
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Big Dragon Summary
Title:
มังกรกินใหญ่
Series Info:
Thailand (2022)
Length:
7 hours
Total Episodes:
8 episodes
Genre:
Romance
About:
Big Dragon is a dark & toxic BL drama.
Plot
Yai is a popular business student because of his good looks, family wealth, and air of success. He is romantically interested in Arjo, his beautiful university senior who recently graduated from the architecture department. Yai wants to take her out for a meal. However, Arjo turns him down to meet with Mangkorn, another architecture student. Mangkorn is a rising star in his faculty, and his popularity on campus eclipses the attention Yai receives.
Arjo meets with Mangkorn to get career advice from him. She has trouble finding a job after graduation. However, Yai misinterprets her intentions and believes he's losing to his competition. He becomes increasingly jealous of Mangkorn, viewing him as a love rival. Later, Arjo invites both guys for a friendly meal together. Mangkorn acts co*cky and flirts aggressively with Arjo, pissing off Yai.
Yai devises a nasty plot to humiliate his rival. After Arjo leaves, he spikes Mangkorn's drink to make him unconscious. Yai brings Mangkorn to the bedroom, where he intends to film a racy encounter between them. His goal is to use the risque footage as blackmail. However, Yai's plan backfires. He mixes up the sleeping drugs with the aphrodisiacs, inadvertently intoxicating himself. Mangkorn overpowers him while they struggle in the bedroom. During a drug-infused encounter, both men give in to their sexual impulses for a night of explosive passion.
Yai wakes up the next morning. He is horrified upon discovering Mangkorn stole the camera footage. In an ironic twist of fate, Mangkorn now blackmails his rival with the sex tape. He threatens to release the footage, which causes Yai distress and psychological torment. To complicate matters, the two men discover they are working on a project together. Yai's father has hired Mangkorn's company for a bar renovation, so the two characters will often see each other. Yai must find a way to retrieve the footage by getting close to his enemy.
Big Dragon Trailer
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Big Dragon Cast
Characters
Yai
ISBANKY (แบงค์ มณฑป เหมตาล)
Yai is a university student specializing in business management. He comes from a wealthy family with a powerful and influential father. After graduation, Yai plans to inherit the Sunset Pub & Bar, which currently undergoes renovation. Although Yai is popular on campus, he faces stiff competition from Mangkorn and considers the other student his rival.
ISBANKY
ISBANKY (แบงค์ มณฑป เหมตาล) is a Thai actor with American and French roots. He is born on November 22, 1998. His first BL project is the 2022 series, Big Dragon.
Mangkorn
Mos Panuwat Sopradit (มอส ภาณุวัฒน์ โสประดิษฐ)
Mangkorn is a university student specializing in architecture. With his confident and flirty personality, Mangkorn loves socializing with the ladies. Mangkorn and Yai have a mutual acquaintance, Arjo, who introduces them to each other. However, the two men clashes upon meeting and don't get along.
Mos Panuwat Sopradit
Mos Panuwat Sopradit (มอส ภาณุวัฒน์ โสประดิษฐ) is a Thai actor. He is born on August 29, 2001. His first BL project is the 2022 series, Big Dragon.
Supporting Cast
Park
Yai's underling
Phong
Yai's underling
Arjo
Yai's senior
Nine
Yai's friend
Hong
Mangkorn's friend
Nadear
Yai's junior
Ying
Yai's sister
Auntie Li
Yai's dad's lover
Mangkorn's mom
Mangkorn's parent
Mangkorn's dad
Mangkorn's parent
Yai's mom
Yai's parent
George
Yai's friend
Dew
Yai's friend
Poon
Yai's friend
Rat
Mangkorn's coworker
Foon
Mangkorn's coworker
Dragon & Tiger
Yai's dolls
Cast Highlights
The actors who portray Nine, George, and Dew (Big, Jame, Jet) are the three leads of the 2021 BL comedy series My Mate Match. Their characters are in a love triangle.
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Big Dragon Review
Review
Drama Review Score: 6.1
C-
With its glossy visuals and majestic soundtrack, Big Dragon gives the impression of grandeur. There's no denying it's beautifully made withcinematic skill and contemporary flair. This visually dazzling series shines during romantic encounters, maximizing the sexual allure between the characters. It has an abundance of BL-friendly optics with saucy content designed to go viral on social media. If we judge Big Dragon purely by its artistry, the drama aces this aspect with no complaints from me.
In Big Dragon, the protagonist blackmails his love interest with a sex tape. I was immediately uncomfortable with thisicky premise for a romance. However, the dark side of me found the twisted drama fascinating, at least from a storytelling perspective. My morbid curiosity overpowered my moral outrage, so the provocative plot didn't offend me as much as I expected. Nonetheless, I had a hard time sympathizing with the main characters. It's impossible to overcome my first impression of Yai as a date rapist and Mangkorn as an equally deplorable scumbag.
Big Dragon suffers because the writing quality is below average, even by the lower standards of the BL genre. You look at the stylish production values and expect this series to produce an epic narrative. Unfortunately, it's just an illusion. After a bold and explosive start, the story retreats to a generic structure. The conflict over the sex tape becomes irrelevant, replaced bypredictable family angst and dull love triangles. These cliched subplots are uncompelling and do not generate excitement. Big Dragon feels lost, as if it has no idea what to do with the drama.
The romance develops clunkily, not capitalizing on the juicy potential of the enemies-to-lovers trope. The leads are supposed to hate each other, yet theysuddenly develop romantic feelingsout of nowhere. Their inexplicable attraction contradicts their antagonistic behaviour in the beginning. If you liked someone, you wouldn't abuse them with fiendish delight. After their relationship improves, Yai and Mangkorn have sweet exchanges. However, the tone doesn't suit them. Surprisingly, I prefer this couple's spicy and sleazy interactions over the forced cutesiness.
Although the romance is terribly written, Big Dragon salvages its love story in several ways. As mentioned, its elegant artistry is an enormous asset. The expert cinematographer turns ordinary encounters into heart-thumping spectacles of passion. In addition, the leads arecomfortable with each other and share relaxed chemistry. They appear at ease during numerous relationship scenes, from playful flirting to sensual touching. Yai's actor (ISBANKY) surprises me with a spirited performance. He complements his handsome looks with natural charisma and confidence.
The start of Big Dragon is filled with scandals, tension, and volatile emotions. However, all the thrilling intrigue is gone by the finale. While the ending is alright, it suffers from the loss of adrenaline in the preceding episodes. The story doesn't build to any compelling climax. Overall, this problematic series isn't great. The plot lacks momentum, the romance feels toxic, and the leads are irreedemable. Despite these faults, it'snot the worst BL I've watched. The mediocre drama meets the minimum quality standard. Big Dragon is simply underwhelming rather than unwatchable.
Summary
Sleazy story
Big Dragon begins with a sleazy, scandalous story about a sex tape. After a while, the adrenaline fades away. The generic plot loses momentum with dull love triangles & predictable family melodrama.
Problematic romance
Yai and Mangkorn are unsympathetic protagonists who meet under a toxic scenario. They suddenly develop romantic feelings, even though it doesn't make sense at that point in their relationship.
Decent acting
The leads share relaxed chemistry, making their relationship scenes comfortable to watch. Yai's actor (ISBANKY) gives a better performance than expected. He seems confident and charismatic.
Happy ending
Big Dragon has a happy ending as the characters overcome their relationship drama. The uninspiring finale suffers from the loss of adrenaline and excitement in the story's second half.
Stunning artistry
This series is beautifully produced with stunning cinematography and a majestic soundtrack. The elegant visuals can amplify the romantic atmosphere despite the woeful writing.
61%
Big Dragon begins with an explosive storyline that fizzles out quickly. Despite the elegant artistry, this poorly written BL series doesn't convey the enemies-to-lovers trope convincingly.
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Big Dragon Episodes
Episode Guide
- Start Date October 8, 2022
- End Date November 26, 2022
- Episodes 8 episodes
- Episode Length 45 minutes
Big Dragon has a total of 8 episodes. Each episode is around 45 minutes long. The last episode is around 60 minutes long. It is a long BL drama, and you can finish the entire series in under 7 hours. Big Dragon started on October 8, 2022 and ended its last episode on November 26, 2022. There are plans to make Big Dragon Season 2.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode Reviews
Episode 1
I groaned after realizing Big Dragon's story is about a sex tape. DO NOT WANT. 😟 However, I'm morbidly curious how this series will spin the twisted dynamic into a romance. I'm ready for toxic BL!
Episode 2
Both main characters are scumbags. Mangkorn's actions are awful, but I can't sympathize with Yai. He planned on doing the same thing with the blackmail. Their hostile feud is intriguing in a trashy way.
Episode 3
Huh? Mangkorn's sudden behavioural change is strange. It's weird the leads developed feelings for each other after one clumsy chat about gay couples. What's the basis of their attraction?
Episode 4
This transition to romance is clunky. How did Yai & Mangkorn go from hostility to flirtation suddenly? Big Dragon seems to have moved on to other stories when the sex tape still weighs on my mind.
Episode 5
Big Dragon reminds me of The Tuxedo, but not just because they use the same house. Both BL series are terribly written, have awful characters, and the romances don't make sense to me.
Episode 6
I have nothing to say about these generic storylines about family melodrama or love triangles. This crap is boring me. Even though the early episodes were toxic, at least they had exciting momentum.
Episode 7
The visuals in this episode are stylish & elegant. I love the ambiance of Yai and Mangkorn's romantic scenes, even though they're a detestable couple. BTW, Nine's character is embarrassing himself.
Episode 8
Is that it? I guess it's not a terrible final episode or the worst BL series ever. However, I am not enthusiastic about the slimy story or sleazy romance. Not excited about Big Dragon Season 2.
Big Dragon Music
Music
Dancing With The Devil
By: ISBANKY
The Big Dragon theme song is Dancing With The Devil. Its performer is ISBANKY, who portrays the lead character in the series.
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Big Dragon Information
Links
- Gagaoolala Big Dragon Gagaoolala
- Instagram Big Dragon Instagram
- MyDramaList Big Dragon MyDramaList
- Twitter Big Dragon Twitter
- Viki Big Dragon Viki
- YouTube Big Dragon YouTube
- YouTube Big Dragon Behind The Scenes
Star Hunter Entertainment
Star Hunter Entertainment is a Thai BL studio known for making Gen Y (2020) and its sequel Gen Y 2 (2021). Its portfolio also includes The Moment (2020), The Moment Since (2020), My Mate Match (2021), and What Zabb Man! (2022).
Director
Puwadon Naosopa (ภูวดล เนาว์โสภา) is a Thai director. He worked on the 2022 series Big Dragon. It is his first BL project.
