Review My Little Ghost – A Vietnamese ghost BL without cheap horror elements

“My Little Ghost“ (CHÀNG KẸ) is QPlus TV’s second BL series. While the first one, the beautiful “Stand by me“ (ĐẢO NHỎ NUÔI MÈO), is a typical example of Vietnamese BL series as it tells a love story among ordinary people in quite a true-to-life way, “My Little Ghost“ is a mystery story, albeit with a realistic background and with all characters - except the ghost and the representatives of the underworld – being average people. In contrast to other recent BL ghost series, it does without terrifying ghosts and cheap horror elements, but tells the heartwarming story of a pitiful, lovely ghost.

Phong (Bach Kiet) committed suicide seven years ago after his parents kicked him out when they learnt about his gay relationship with Vu (Bui Trung Thai). Since then, he’s been hiding, in the house where he died, while the Unparallaled Black (Mun - Dinh Khanh Dui) and White (Gao - Huy Cao) are waiting in front of the house as their mission is to catch Phong’s soul, as the souls of persons who committed suicide have to be imprisoned in the underworld until the end of their predestined lifespan. The Unparalleled Black and White cannot enter the house as Phong’s soul/ghost is being protected by a talisman.

When a new tenant named Kien (Nguyen Thanh Huy) moves in, who is able to see the ghost, things change dramatically for both Phong’s ghost and Kien. As the ghost cannot remember his life as a mortal, Kien gives him a new name, i.e. Ke. After Ke teases Kien at first, the ghost and the human become friends, and Kien takes Ke to the outside world in an umbrella, protected by the talisman.

When Ke remembers that Mun and Gao told him that reconciling with the persons who suffered after his suicide would spare him imprisonment and would give him the chance to reincarnate, Kien decides to help him find those persons. Ke thinks that it was Vu who suffered the most, but realizes that Vu soon forgot about him. So Kien and Ke try to find Phong’s parents, and finally really find them.

Kien hides Ke’s existence from his close friends and workmates, but they get suspicious because they notice that he is acting strange. Kien was abandoned by his mother and spent some years in an orphanage, where Tung (Nguyen Son) became his best friend, who always stayed by his side and actually becomes furiously jealous when he notices that Kien has fallen in love with the ghost.

When the woman, who adopted Kien, sees Kien’s drawing of Ke, she recognizes that Ke is her son Phong. By coincidence, the owner of the café, where Kien works, is her ex-husband, and when Kien realizes this, he sees an opportunity to have Ke/Phong reincarnated. After a dramatic family reunion, Ke moves on, and when everything hints at a sad ending for Kien and Ke, a baby is taken to the orphanage who bears a birthmark that is identical with a ring Kien has given Ke.

The story is based on tragic events, especially Phong’s suicide as a result of his homophobic parents’ disgusting behavior, and it would have been too heavy if there weren’t scenes of comic relief, which often involve Madam White Spirit (Phi Phung), the “boss“ of the Unparalleled Black and White, who is often desperate about the clumsiness of the two. So the writers, Huynh Tien Khoa and Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, have done a good job here and also in the characterization of the protagonists. There is one element I did not appreciate, and that is the way the disgusting behavior of Phong’s parents is being sugarcoated. Their change from homophobic, violent persons to loving parents is not only not credible, but in my opinion they do not deserve to be forgiven so easily.

Director Huynh Tien Khoa also succeeds in leading his actors, some of whom are newbies, to make the series enjoyable to watch. Which brings me to the actors, and it is surprising how Bach Kiet and Nguyen Thanh Huy, who are both rookies, carry the weight of their lead roles. Most of the supporting actors are up to their job as well. To name just a few, Phi Phong is incredible as Madam White Spirit, displaying anger, strictness, desperation, but also affection brilliantly. Dinh Khanh Dui and Huy Cao (who also played in “Stand by me“) succeed in being more than just comic relief. Nguyen Son is perfect in acting as Kien’s longtime, protective friend, who is loving and caring as well as hot tempered.

Like most Vietnamese series, “My Little Ghost“ has a flawless production quality despite a limited budget. I don’t often mention the costumes department in my reviews, but this time I have to, because the costumes of the Unparalleled Black and White and Madam White Spirit are fantastic. The soundtrack matches the emotionality of the series perfectly, with the title song being beautiful and catchy.

All in all, the series succeeds in blending tragic events and comic relief. Vietnamese BL series often remain below the radar of international fans, and it’s a pity that “My Little Ghost“ has even less views than other Vietnamese BL series. It really deserves better.