My Keychain – Series Review

Tin is an ordinary student walking home from school. One day, he encounters Na, a student from another school. Na was running away from his bullies when he accidentally bumped into Tin. After the two schoolboys crossed paths, the keychains in their backpacks got tangled together. Reluctantly, Na forfeited his bag to the stranger he had just met. They make arrangements to meet up again once their schoolbags are separated.

In their next meeting, Nan accidentally grabs the wrong bag. This mistake gives the characters another opportunity to communicate and interact. Na seems friendly during their exchanges, even though Tin is reluctant to get closer to him. As they chat after school, Tin almost falls down the stairs out of carelessness. Na tries rescuing him, but he ends up falling down and hurting himself in the process. He has an injured leg as a result.

Tin feels terrible about what happened to Na. He starts paying more attention and taking care of the injured student. As they spend time together, feelings develop between the pair. However, their budding relationship faces interference from other friends, classmates, and bullies.

My Keychain is a BL series for a young demographic, aimed toward preteens or similar age groups. It's a very light and relatively mild romance that shouldn't offend anyone. The wholesomeness is one of the selling points, in my opinion. I appreciate an innocent gay love story catering to an age-appropriate audience. Sometimes, BL gets a reputation of being an 18+ genre, so these modest coming-of-age journeys help restore the balance.

Even though My Keychain is meant for youths, I believe they deserve a better quality than this amateurish effort. I'm sorry, but the narrative is barely coherent. How can a junior audience follow this choppy plot, remember the random characters, or feel immersed in the clunky dialogue? I already adjusted my expectations and didn't anticipate sophistication. An intelligible storyline should be the minimum standard for a BL drama. Yet, the pitiful writing doesn't even reach this low threshold.

In addition, the adolescent romance develops awkwardly. Although My Keychain tries to copy some familiar BL tropes, many scenes feel iffy and ineffective. The main characters have a barebones relationship and hardly know each other in a meaningful capacity. I like the adorable interactions around the dog, but their other bonding moments are weak. Look, I'm not asking for a complex connection or sizzling chemistry from this schoolboy romance. However, the BL material is meagre and not enough to feel satisfying.

The cast consists of young rookies who lack on-screen experience. I'll refrain from being too harsh, but the leads don't always nail their reactions or behave smoothly. Production-wise, My Keychain does a decent job in this department. The soundtrack is catchy and the camerawork looks capable. My primary complaint is the location choices. Most of the series is filmed outside a plain suburban neighbourhood, which doesn't seem very exciting or visually stimulating. There's a mundaneness to the setting that the series can't shake away.

My Keychain has several moments that show a glimmer of potential. Here and there, I enjoy a sweet exchange or cute reaction that sways my heart to write a favourable review. I also like the cozy ending that gives me warm, fuzzy vibes. However, the positive memories are fleeting, never lasting enough to make an impression. Instead, I usually feel confused, frustrated, and bored by the juvenile plot. Overall, My Keychain is a rough first effort for a BL series, dipping below average quality. I believe the story, romance, and dialogue could be written significantly better.