Charged with sweetness and charm, this new Oxin Films original finds melody and color in its leads’ lovely chemistry and its sugary plot.
OXIN FILMS
Actors: Adrian Dionisio, Eurwin Canzana, Ameer Sanchez, Niko Badayos, Gio Emprese, Dovee Park, Leilani Kate Yalung, Christian Estrada, Will Devaughn, Yani de Dios, Christian Estrada
Genre: Drama, Romance, Musical
Premise: A prince and a future King, flees to the Philippines to escape a threat to his life. Accompanied by loyal servants and friends, he has to navigate his life away from the throne he is destined to take, while allowing his new journey lead to fun adventures, and a magical romance.
Running Time: 40 minutes
Director: Xion Lim
Watch it on: Oxin Films’ YouTube Channel
Why You Should See It:
By this time, the attention given to local boys’ love (BL) has already significantly declined, even though new titles kept popping up in the past few months, at least on YouTube. The ones that made waves during the height of Pinoy BL hype mostly migrated to subscription-based streaming apps. It’s not clear whether they have found a bigger revenue stream, but the move somewhat caused damage—I mean, just look at the views. That or simply the lack of attention-grabbing entries to the craze is to blame.
That said, there have been promising stories that have come out and are yet to debut this pandemic. Since the finale episode of its very successful, My Day, in 2020, Oxin Films has been constantly teasing its viewers with its next big offering, although it’s not that hard to see their struggle in finding the right time to release their upcoming boys’ love series. With Rainbow Prince, luck may be on their side, but that still largely depends on how the story develops.
Rainbow Prince: The Series follows Prince Zeyn (Adrian Dionisio), prince and heir to the throne of Zurbania. When his life gets threatened by those who are after the throne, the prince flees to the Philippines with his Filipino servant and a trusted Zurbanian companion. Upon arriving in the Philippines, the prince assumes a new identity and tries to blend in with the locals. He crosses paths, one day, with the son of a hotel’s general manager, Mikey (Eurwin Canzana), whom he quickly gets smitten with the moment they first met.
Xion Lim, who both directed and wrote the series, tries to fuse boys’ love with a musical approach. It’s hard to say he is succeeding, but so far, the choice has been amusing. Production-wise, Rainbow Prince is hefty, and there is a level of attention paid to the series, that one can easily find in a regular web drama, especially in a local boys’ love series.
Running for at least 40 minutes, there is room to fill to ensure a fluid script. The pilot episode has unnecessary sequences that could have been shortened or completely committed, but there is entertainment to squeeze, at least. Dionisio and Canzana may not have to exert much effort to forge chemistry; the pilot episode, alone, shows a lot of promise about where their brewing sugar-coated romance can go. Brimming with sweetness and light appeal, this musical and boys’ love hybrid seems all-poised to create a melody local BL lovers will inevitably swoon for.
Rainbow Prince: The Series streams new episodes every Saturday on OXin Film’s YouTube channel. Watch the official full trailer, below:
