#Thia BL

[pharawee]

one more look at the ghost before I'm gonna make it leave

—THE HIDDEN MOON · เดือนพราง · Episode 03

[absolutebl]

Top 10 Great BLs That Are REALLY hard to find (but worth tracking down)

You may want to go hunting anyway!

Seven Days

Seven Days: Monday-Thursday

Seven Days: Friday-Sunday

Japan 2015

Never doubt my ability to recommend this show. One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes (rare in Japanese BL). The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

Cherry Magic AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii

Japan 2020

The sweetest fluffiest magical realism BL, packaged as a pinning office romance, very low heat (practically chaste) but the cutest. It’s truly great.

Cherry Magic Thailand

Thai 2024

A soft charming warm hug of a show about crushes and mind reading and self worth, with no-fuss execution from a consummate team and an OG lead pair proving why they remain eternal and deserve to grow up. Look, here’s the thing, Cherry Magic is a great Thai BL in its own right not comparing it to any other iteration. But even when I do compare (and I've seen all the Cherries and read the manga) it still stands. I personally like it slightly better than the Japanese live action, but I think that’s because I just really like Thai BL and I LOVE TayNew. Also all the kissing was both present and better than any other iteration. As it should be from Thailand.

I Feel You Linger in the Air

Thai 2023

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn (but no as much as To Sir With Love and with way less scenery chewing). This is an elegant and classy BL... from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t good either. This show could easily have earned a 10/10 from me except that it fumbled the… erm… balls in the final quarter. Argh. Whatever.

All about the ecstasy and the agony here.

Restart After Come Back Home AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Japan 2020

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning.

Given

Japan 2021

Boy joins band, falls in love with other boy. The singing is terrible, fast forward through that but with the possible exception of the hair styles, this BL could have been made in 2015 and no one would be surprised. As such, it wasn’t ground breaking, but it didn’t disappoint either.

Make a Wish

Thai 2023

A doctor who can see the dead strikes a bargain with a wish-granting irreverent tree angel - naturally they fall in love (from Sammon: Manner of Death & Triage). Stars Fluke Natouch opposite not-Ohm, but who tf cares because Fluke has chemistry with everybody. Once again the Thai afterlife is incredibly bureaucratic but I enjoyed the premise and the unfolding of the story (it’s not predictable but still satisfying and with nice little twist). I like that the doctor is just gay AF - fag hag bestie and all the swagger. The cast is excellent even if the comedic stylings are a bit overblown and tonally off. It had sad parts and did make me cry but is ultimately happy with a great sex scene, good smiley kisses, and all the agency. Definitely recommended.

2 Moons The Ambassador AKA 2 Moons 3

Thai 2022

A Thai pulp that felt like it came out 5 yrs prior, with many of the flaws inherent to that time and studio system, including manufactured angst and convoluted plot, but an ultimately sweet main couple that (as a pairing) feels a bit more modern and satisfying to watch than they started out. This will probably go down in history as one of the few BLs where I genuinely didn’t care about any of the side couples. All that said, I find this show oddly appealing and rewatchable and I have no excuses for that except, I enjoyed it probably more than it deserved. Nostalgia & d**k, it's what's for dinner.

I Want to See Only You AKA Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai

Japan 2022

This is a beautiful well acted piece of cinema, about two boys who are opposite personalities and grew up together. Gifted and serious Sakura pines after outgoing eccentric manic pixie dream boy, Yuma. It is very pretty and this is the kind of atmospheric elegantly performed BL that only really comes from Japan (complete with dead fish kisses - what you though Korea invented them? oh no). If you want something stylish, this is it.

Triage

Thai 2022

BL does Groundhog Day featuring a doctor stuck in a time loop who must save a poor little rich boy from death by seducing the stuffing out of him, then PLOT TWIST, poor little rich boy must do the same for the doctor! Unfortunately... stuffing keeps leaking. I thought the plot was engaging if a little redundant and occasionally exhausting. The pairs were all well done, low heat but with decent chemistry and the support characters were likable (or unlikable, as required). If anything, the romance arc detracted and distracted from the main plot, but that doesn't stop this from being a genuinely good show.

HONORABLE MENTION

Great Men Academy

Thai 2019

Bodyswap involving unicorns turning a teenage girl into a boy makes this questionable as a BL (because, ya know, gender). But the fact remains that James is killer in the lead, and I (who do not like bodyswap) loved this damn show. Look, there is actual plot, hotties at boarding school, "bully the one you love" trope, some weird VR shit, very bad CGI, and yes, the boys end up together... whether they boys or not, so to speak.

Some of these shows may appear on a smaller streaming service, like WeTV, or they may be on a legal platform in your territory. I hope it goes without saying you should check there first.

(source)

This list updated Spring 2024, not responsible for cool stuff that went missing (or was added to a platform) after that date.

It's it last in a series the rest of which are:

[allovelyhappily]

He's never loved you other than as a friend.

[aylinaliens]

It’s okay. You’re safe. It’s okay. Gun. I got you. It’s okay. It’s okay.  

MY SCHOOL PRESIDENT (2022-2023) || episode 5 dIr. Au Kornprom Niyomsil

[apocurves]

KINNPORSCHE ANNIVERSARY WEEK 9

Favorite scenes (2/?) pt.1

[heretherebedork]

NO ONE NEEDS A FLASHBACK TO SCENES WE'VE SEEN IN THE SHOW IN EPISODE 3.

[lutawolf]

TharnType Episode 1

I know a lot of people hate TharnType… But for me, it holds a special place. We live vicariously through art. Just because I watch or read murder mysteries doesn't mean I'm so idiotic as to believe I can solve a murder. Just because I cheer when someone knocks the shit out of someone in the movie, doesn't mean I think it should happen in real life. If you don't want to watch shows and movies that require critical thinking, then don't. I personally feel that we've taken so much critical thinking from shows and movie that people can't make logical leaps or think for themselves.

All that to say, that I'm well aware that these characters are toxic. I'll be pointing out a lot of toxicity, but that's also real life. And I personally want to feel something other than awww, when I watch a show or movie. I want to have to analyze my emotions. So that's what I'll be doing in this review.

Right off, we can see that Type is that man's man type of guy. He is tough and sporty, and he views the world from this very narrow view finder. Traditionally, men have been socialized to portray a strong image, especially in Asian society. And you have to understand that most victims of violent assault are made to feel weak. How often I've heard, "that wouldn't have happened to me because I would have punched someone." or "that won't happen to me, I'm strong." Men especially feel the weight of this. Because they are the "protectors" and "providers". So what we often see happen is over compensation of that masculinity, as if to completely erase any weakness. I've always been impressed that MAME details this because generally unless you can get a male victim talking, most miss this behavioral trait.

Techno runs in and tells Type that his roommate is gay. Because he knows how Type feels about gays. Let's talk about this. We know that all of Type's friends have no issues with gays, and yet they still hang out with Type. Which means they've already figured out that Type likely has a reason for his prejudice. Everyone, "Just because he went through what he did doesn't" shut the fuck up. Your lack of sympathy is showing. I do not know a single victim that didn't hate and didn't have to work damn hard through that hate. That's when we become survivors, but I'm telling you, I relate to Type because my hate nearly consumed me.

What I like about the initial confrontation is, despite Tharn's clear anger. He is education and brings up solid points that cause Type to pause. He sees the logic in the education. While there is anger, there isn't hate, which can cause people to get angry themselves and not listen. This right here for me is the first step we see to Type reformulating his bias. A seed has been planted, though he doesn't know it, but he will see it later on in the show when Type brings up these very arguments to himself.

We see more arguments. Type having nightmares of being molested by Tharn. Which they downplay in the show, but yeah, think about it. His anger is all about his fear and his fear of being weak again. See, anger is like armor, it hides the cracks of imperfections. The broken pieces.

Notice how Techno is not accepting of Type's prejudice. He educates at every opportunity. When Techno begins to ask if Tharn has hit on him, we see anger rise in Type. Again, this is used as a shield. In the flashback, we see the real Type. Through the flashbacks, we can see that Type really is a pretty likeable guy. He's friendly, respectful, and honestly easy going. He didn't fight for anything coming into the dorm. He didn't see it as important. Then we see the type of person one becomes when they let hate take over.

And that's the point of this next part! Now Tharn is letting anger take over and is the beginning stages of hate. You flame that, and it will grow till you are doing stuff in the name of revenge. Hatred and anger turns us all into different people, ugly people. People we don't recognize.

Techno sees Type for who he is. Techno is like that third point of view. Now back to Type and Tharn, we see the escalation of emotions that's going to lead to despicable acts. Then we watch the back and forth. We see Type feeling guilty. He can't stop what he started, but we aren't seeing an inherently bad person. You can really see this from the way his friends communicate with him.

I'm going to bring up something rarely brought up. Tharn has had a tendency to be in Type's of space. Type has had to push him back. Then he initiated that cheek kiss. That's when Type gets physical, which is fair. See, he is actually defending himself, and I know we all feel the need to cheer for Tharn because he is the one having prejudice against him. But Type wasn't physical. When do words and annoyances equal moving to physical? You can walk away from these other things. That being said, I cheered, hell yeah, I love a good revenge move, but I can easily see that these two are both wrong. They need to take each other out of the dating pool because they are so wrong that they are right for each other.

Techno trying to explain about Type without selling him out. He's explaining exactly why he is the way he is and why Techno forgives it. Why he is friends with him. It's just that it's not sinking in for Tharn. Or maybe he is like a bunch of people and doesn't think that's an excuse. But that's like telling someone with PTSD, Anxiety, or any other brain misfire that we can't control it. It really is very hard to control, especially when not given the tools to begin healing. He has had no therapy, no chance to communicate. This has festered as a dirty little secret.

Anyway, I think that's it more than anything. Tharn has an idea but no comprehension to show compassion. And a lot of built-up animosity, "I don't do drunk people." But he feels okay with hickey revenge. He has pushed passed what would be deemed acceptable behavior even to himself, but he's let animosity fester. And admit it. Some of us found the revenge sweet. Why we enjoy it so much is Type is a jerk, and we all fantasize about giving it to the jerk. But it's also uncomfortable, and it's meant to be. It's meant to make you realize that the need for revenge can push us where we shouldn't go. I really truly love the depth of this show.

Okay guys, give me feed back. Want me to keep going?

[pharawee]

—Why did you drag me in? —You pushed me in first!

[absolutebl]

Hey. Ty very much for your posts. As a woman in my 30s I got hypnotised by the beauty of the novelists and was wondering if you had similar high heat intense recommendations (also watched the samurai one "taboo"), bi or mlm with older leads and non fluffy storylines.. Moody atmospheric and venomous is my weak spot

Moody, atmospheric & venomous BL

Like, the Novelist? really?

AKA Pornographer movie series AKA The Novelist, Mood Indigo, Pornographer Playback (Japan 2018-2020) - emotional manipulation, cheating, obsession, seduction, May/December, kink, touch of necrophilia, explicit.   

Okay I got one right off the bat: seek ye....

The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese

AKA Kyuso wa Chizu no Yume wo Miru (Japan 2020) - obsession, cheating, breakup, reunion, then break up again, explicit, mature characters. 

Now let me think about some more:

high heat

intense

non fluffy

older leads

The last one is a doozy, so I'm not gonna use it as a qualifier. BL is most, well, about "boys" not men.

Some others that might work for you but don't meet all your criteria:

Your Name Engraved Herein (Taiwan 2020 Netflix) - this movie is fantastic but it is also seriously depressing, it’s a self acceptance journey, but if you wanna wallow in high quality acting and serious gay drama, this’ll do it. 

Innocent (Taiwan 2021 GaGa) - mental health, childhood trauma, actually kinda sweet. 

The Eighth Sense (Korea 2023 Viki - This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a KBL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled but it's really damn good.

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan 2023 Gaga) - Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. They're hot, young, in love, and total idiots.

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Thai 2023 grey or YT) - IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, elegant and classy… from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, it gets hot more that explicit, but it does have sharp edges.

Tokyo in April is AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan 2023 Viki) - Two young men with a shared tragic past reunite and fall in love all over again, but the past will not stop hunting them. It’s Japan in full on soft focus which means it gets emo, abusive, and chewy. These two characters are giving parts of their souls away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other it's heavy and cutting.

Moonlight Chicken (Thai 2023) - I enjoyed this complicated little show, even though it’s spectacularly messy gay with lots of shrapnel and authentic pain. EarthMix turn in their most compelling performance to date.

Bed Friend (Thai 2023 IQIYI) - Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS). NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth.

Big Dragon (Thai 2022 Gaga) - This is a decent execution of true enemies to lovers, these two spy on and bully each other, exploring darker themes and self worth issues. The way the leads transition between anger, resentment, titillation, and flirting (and the way, with kinksters, this can all be the same thing) is really well done. A pairing that proved itself to be a lot more sophisticated than I expected with excellent chemistry, but something went askew around plot, directing, and ending. Still if you're in it for the sexy, go to, they did.

My Beautiful Man AKA Utsukushii Kare (Japan 2021 Gaga - One of the most Japanese BLs to release in the last decade, as weird and as messed up as any 2000′s yaoi: emo af and hella warped, entirely true to itself with no attempt made to modify its POV for modern sensibilities or current BL fandom. It used seriously old school problematic and kinky tropes, like whipping boy, for a truly uncompromising piece that also manages to hit up themes of communication, consent, and self acceptance. It’s a wonderful BL but uniquely dirty and harsh, in the best possible way - Japanese cinema, uncompromising.

End of the World With You

Junjou: Pure Heart

The Egoist

No thoughts on those three, not my thing.

You also might consider some of the stuff on this list:

Hope that gives you some options!

[allovelyhappily]

Wandee Goodday_Great Sapol & Inn Sarin

[bearygyur]

BAD BUDDY THE SERIES (2021) – E03

[heretherebedork]

New life motto.

[l0vey-d0vey-moved]

ik i have already mafe a post avt how im gonna b deleting this blog but hoooo boyyyy

[luvvwins]

let's just take a moment to reflect on not me.

the show was going to be popular no matter what, because it had offgun in it. BUT it took what could have been just another BL show and it MADE A DIFFERENCE.

• it featured an openly trans character, not as a joke but just as a person.

• it seriously tackled topics like disability and lgbtq+ inequality, corruption, capitalism, politics.

• it featured actual activists that are constantly trying to make a change.

and so much more. And none of this would have been possible without the brilliant mind of P'Nuchy. So thank you to P'Nuchy for truly gracing us with a masterpiece.

No show is perfect, and we can't love everyone. But the ACTING™ was amazing. The ACTING™ was what made the audience invested.

Nuch, Namo, Eugene may have not been main characters, but the show was wouldn't have survived without them. They gave us powerful women, and loyal friends. They showed us that they didn't need a man to give them substance, they themselves were substance.

Gumpa, Gram, Dan, Yok and Todd. Despite my *feelings* towards Gram, he was loyal. He stood by his friends and the people he cared about (for the most part), and he believed in his cause. Dan was the character that needed to exist. The character that had everything going for him but had to give it away to protect his loved ones. Gumpa, this man actually deserves an award for dealing with these absolute idiots. The advisor that we all need in our life. Yok, MY BABY YOK, the loose-canon that is actually everyone's baby. First SLAYED as Yok. He made Yok the greatest, sluttiest, artist out there and when he cried, we all cried with him. Really though, no one could've have done thia the way First did. AND THEN TODD. THIS ABSOLUTE MOTHER. He was best kind of villain, the villain that you just kinda have a crush on.

And finally...our dear OffGun. I've talked a lot about Gun so let's just talk about Off for a second. I feel like Off doesn't always get the beat roles, so I feel like we haven't really seen the extent of his acting ability...but he did and AMAZING job as Sean. He really got the chance to shine in a character that had a lot of meat and bones and I am so proud to say he was so good!

And then there is Gun who is literally amazing and we love him and HE IS AN ACTOR™. He truly convinced me that two different people were playing the twins. He was so different for both characters and that was AMAZING. He is AMAZING.

Overall thoughts: fav character was Yok, fav scene was Todd and Black's scene in episode 13, biggest plot twist was grameugene because what the hell, and the highlight of the series was seanwhite under the Pride flag.

[incandescentflower]

What are you thoughts on Thia and Kan's relationship? I hope they have a good ending but man Thua reminds me of my school days and being bullied and called slurs incessantly that has led to years of mental health help lol. I find it so sad that presumably Kan can only be his true self around Thua using a pseudonym :(

Hey Anon, I'm sorry to hear that the Eclipse is having some triggering effects. I hope you are all right and take care of yourself.

I hadn't really pushed Kan/Thua's relationship out too far in my mind yet. The Eclipe is still in its front-end episodes so I was still trying to understand all their character arcs. And, as others have said, this is different from other Thai BL which by in large have decided to portay a world beyond homophobia. In those cases, happy endings are all but guaranteed. I think most of us watch it for the catharsis of them all working it out in the end.

Thua seems somewhat resigned about the school dynamics (although that perhaps is putting on a strong face). Kan seems more bothered by the comments and attention at school for Thua's sake and it feels like most of Kan's realization will come simply from understanding Thua more and being by his side more. Thua's main concerns seem to come from his step-father and that doesn't feel like that's going away. I could see a pretty big conflict between Kan and Thua's step-father as part of all of this.

I hope this is one where there aren't veering too far away from our expectations and although they are giving us this more difficult story, they still allow for the traditional happy ending, but, we all know systemic homophobia and authoritarianism aren't topics that can be wrapped up and "solved" in one show, so your guess is as good as mine.

But this is still queer creators doing queer stories so I personally think it will be ultimately uplifting. It feels like Not Me in that there are some real dangers to the characters but a theme of truth and morality shining through and the characters standing up for what they believe in. So I'm personally optimistic. Although Not Me did kinda crush the second couple, but then tried to revive them, although that didn't work for me.

[dangermousie]

That’s the most romantic “escaping from evil enemies” ride ever. MMMMM. I loved it when she escaped her wedding and jumped onto his horse and off they went, romancing and slaughtering in equal measure.

Bwhahahahahahahah I about died!!!!!! (And the BL shippers in the army get new fodder for gossip since don’t know Haishi is a girl.)

Taking a sword cut for your “master” as one does.

Thia drama is a fever dream!