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Getting Started BL RecList
Back in 2022, when I first started watching BL – though it was far from my first foray into the genre* –, I went in guns blazing without much of an idea where to start and where it would lead me. Now, in 2024, I have almost 500 BL series and movies under my belt and I realise it might feel a little overwhelming to choose where to start for someone who dives into the current landscape for the first time. That’s why I thought I would compile a completely personal and biased rec list for beginners who might want a little guidance, completely based on my own experience and journey into this amazing and highly entertaining world. Links for where to watch are in an alternate version of this post because of the Tumblr link limit and if you have trouble finding any or specific versions of any of the shows, my askbox is at your disposal. Hope you enjoy!
*while I’ve been reading Yaoi Manga since I was about 11, excluding very few exceptions, it’s only recently that I’ve gotten into the genre on the screen. That is to say, I wasn’t entirely clueless to begin with.
The Fluff - Happy endings assured, along with some side-stitching comedies.
⇢About Youth - Just so heartwarming and lovely, it has a great OST and an interesting family conflict theme to it. It’s cute and it’s wonderful. ⇢Bad Buddy - Such a classic even though it’s fairly recent. I think it’s perfect for a beginner with its classic enemies-to-lovers dynamic and a Romeo and Juliet kind of deal going on. ⇢Cherry Magic! JPN/Cherry Magic! TH - I know some might want to kill me for what I’m about to say but I personally didn’t love the Japanese version of this story and very much adored the Thai one. However, the Japanese show is a must-watch because it’s definitely a staple in Japanese BL and even though I didn’t love the series itself, the movie played me like a fiddle. The Thai version immediately became one of my absolute favourites, on like, episode one. So… give both a try. + Movie ⇢Fish Upon the Sky - I had no idea people hated this show as much as they do, I actually love it. It was the first BL that had me in stitches and even upon rewatches, it hasn’t failed to live up to what I first thought of it. This is just pure crack and it’s awesome. ⇢Kieta Hatsukoi - Sweet, so very very sweet. It’s Japan’s brand of sweet too which some might find a little unsatisfactory. When I first gave it a try, I didn’t quite get the hype but then it went in interesting places for me and now I highly recommend it. + Thai remake ⇢My School President - THEE high school BL. I have watched many others and none of them have impressed me and entertained me like this one. I even like the music. GMMTV did not know how much gold it had struck when they signed GemFourth. ⇢Old Fashion Cupcake - A mature story about finding love and yourself later in life in the guise of a fluffy show. This is very much a case of more than meets the eye and everything from the aesthetics to the story elevates it to a classic. ⇢Our Dining Table - The perfect exploration of found family for me. I love this show so much, I cried almost every single episode and it really really surprised me in many ways. It’s truly a warm, comforting show with subtle imagery and masterful acting. The main actor is incredibly talented and a fucking acting chameleon. It also features the best child actor that has ever graced my screen. + Special EP
Set Your Expectations High - High-quality shows that might ruin you for anything less.
⇢He’s Coming to Me - Could have been an underrated gem but luckily, there’s a lot of people who love this show and for good reason. It has my favourite coming out plot and it’s so original in its premise. Wonderfully complex characters and amazing acting. Ohm Pawat knocks it out of the park with this one, definitely my favourite of his. ⇢Not Me - How to even begin to explain how important this show is to me. I got a fucking tattoo of it, on my skin, forever!!!! My absolute number one BL, they will never make another like it. I love everything about it from the director, to the casting, to the silly moments. This show single-handedly endeared me to so many of GMMTV roster, it's insane. It almost ruined me for everything else and I watched it very early on too, so there was a tangible risk.
We Like It Spicy - If you’re looking for titillating chemistry, this is for you.
⇢Big Dragon - This show compels me. Is it good? Not exactly. And yet it kept me glued to the screen every single week. The chemistry is on fire, the story is a little silly at times but the way the characters develop through it is surprisingly very well-done. I don’t know what to say, it really worked for me and it’s a great display of how sometimes you’ll come across shows that care more about titillation than story. ⇢KinnPorsche - My very, very first Thai BL and what got me back into the genre and introduced me to Thai shows in particular. It is horny, it is wild, it is toxic at times but it is the ride. I believe it might have been the first Thai BL show to truly get so much money thrown at it and it changed the entire industry. Also just so completely entertaining and fun. ⇢The Novelist - The native title for this is Pornographer so you can imagine how this belongs into a higher level of spicy. I feel like it's a very good look into the more mature side of Japanese BL while still including a compelling love story. There are tougher Japanese BL out there both in terms of themes and explicitness but this is a good primer. + Prequel (watch it second) & Sequels 1, 2, & 3
Legendary Doesn’t Always Mean Good - Titles you just can’t stop coming across, a mixed bag of quality.
⇢2gether - I‘ll premise by saying that I really don’t like this one. I only watched it because it is inescapable when you start looking at Thai BL and I just had to know what the hype was about. It was absolutely not worth it for me but definitely belongs to the list of the ones you need to watch for the culture. + Season 2 & Movie ⇢Cupid’s Last Wish - This show makes me actively angry, genuinely throws me into a rage if I think about it too much while also having one of my favourite scenes. Overall, not great though not even all that bad. My dislike of it is not at all proportional with how bad it is. I feel like it’s a bit of a classic for a lot of reasons. Just… give it a try, it’s impossible you’ll hate it as much as I do. ⇢Dark Blue Kiss - Funnily enough, even though I really hated their part of the show, this is the one that made me a TayNew fan. It’s not offensively bad but it has a special place in hell for me for what it could have been but wasn’t – those are the shows that test me the most – and the only way I managed to watch the whole of it was thanks to the secondary couple. As a lot of other shows in this section, it’s another one for the culture. + Kiss Me Again ⇢HIStory2: Crossing the Line - The HIStory series is definitely the biggest staple of Taiwanese BL but if I had to recommend it, I would only go for specific shows like this one and two others in the list. This specifically is a little on the older side and it is just so charming. The acting in the entire series is quite good when taking into account when they were made but this is the first one with a truly enjoyable plot in my opinion. ⇢HIStory3: Trapped - Oh, this one is just plain good. I think it’s a turning point for the HIStory series and it’s very very entertaining while also having some genuine emotional beats. ⇢Manner of Death - Manner of Death walked so KinnPorsche could run. MaxTul have done so much for the Thai BL industry and this show in particular took the risk of transposing BL into the thriller genre and opened the door for many others to mix up the formula. Plus, it’s genuinely good. ⇢Semantic Error - Everything that Korean BL can be when production is not cowardly. Sounds harsh but it’s true. It’s fun, it’s quirky, the dynamic and chemistry make it an instant classic, and it’s just so beautiful to look at. One of the most pleasant rewatches for me. ⇢Together With Me - This one is probably older than anything else Thai in this list and it shows; it gives a very good idea of where BL storylines started but it’s not exactly good. Interesting watch if you want to know where the Kings™ came from. + Bad Romance (original story, not recommended) & Season 2 ⇢We Best Love: No. 1 For You - For me, this encompasses everything Taiwanese BL can be while also showcasing where it came from. A rare, non-Thai, very frequent rewatch. + Season 2 ⇢Where Your Eyes Linger - This is the first of director Hwang Da Seul’s holy trinity and together with To My Star and Blueming is a must-watch of Korean BL. ⇢Why R U? - A formative show in my Thai BL journey and also one of the first I watched. It is definitely dated but it also really shows how Thai BL developed over time. I slightly prefer the more recent and totally different Korean remake but it’s very close.
I Don’t Want Peace I Want Problems - These characters hate boredom just as much as you.
⇢Addicted - The Cursed story with a capital C, this show is truly one of a kind. It delves into some pretty toxic and problematic narratives but it’s also the only adaptation that manages to really convey the socioeconomic message of the story it tells. Be warned that it is incomplete due to Chinese censorship, which is only the tip of the iceberg of the BTS lore. None of the adaptations have (so far) been able to get to the end of the original story, hence the reason I say it’s Cursed. + Censored Chinese remake & Thai remake (ongoing) ⇢The Eclipse - I really really loved this show until I didn’t. The acting alone is one of the best in the whole of GMMTV’s history and it touches on some very complex themes while still very much being a High School BL. The ending frustrated me to no end because it completely smashed the quality heights it had reached for some easy fluff and it just left a bitter taste in my mouth. Still, it’s very beloved by a lot of people – *cough*Jay*cough*. ⇢Love Mechanics - It’s messy and probably not to everyone’s taste but for me this is an excellent display of how much direction and chemistry can make or break a not-that-exciting story. I rewatch this constantly. + NOTE: There is a director’s cut of the first three episodes then they integrate. En of Love [▶️watch here] is the first, inferior version of the story. ⇢My Beautiful Man - This one tends to be a controversial rec. It’s probably the show that surprised me the most in this entire list and made me do a complete 180 in my opinion of it. Once I finally gave it a chance, I just couldn't stop watching it, and it gets even better as it continues in the following season and the epilogue. + Season 2 & Movie ⇢My Stand-In - A very recent addition, I am obsessed with it. There is not one episode I didn’t like and for me this really managed to make the relationship work despite the toxicity and the atrocities. The acting is just splendid, I will now forever be a fan of Up and Poom. I love it. ⇢To Sir, With Love - This is fully a soap opera. I haven’t seen it recommended as much as others because of how long and how specifically in the soap opera genre it is. But! – big but – if you manage to get through the whole of it, you are primed for any other BLs that use the same narrative style or very close narrative styles like Century of Love. For me, it contextualised a lot of other Thai shows I’ve watched and in the end, though it feels longer than it should be, I actually really liked it. But man, life is way too short to ever rewatch it.
So You Want It Artsy - That snobby friend who only watches French Indie films you hate to admit are actually excellent.
⇢180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us - The biggest draw of this show is the shooting style which perfectly complements the themes in the story. A masterclass in acting with complex characters, I know a lot of people find it hard to get through because of the theatrical style it employs but for me that’s a huge plus. I highly discourage watching it all at once, I think it’s a show that needs its time to be watched. A real feast for the eyes. ⇢Blueming - A cinematographic work of art. The plot is not that complicated, it relies a lot on the emotional beats and the complex inner lives of the protagonists. Part of the HDS holy trinity so you just gotta watch it. It’s fairly brief. ⇢The Eighth Sense - Unfortunately, I didn't end up loving this as much as basically everyone else but I do think it showed amazing promise. The ending just didn't work particularly well for me but it's definitely a very well-crafted story with amazing cinematography and great acting. ⇢I Told Sunset About You, Last Twilight in Phuket, I Promised You The Moon - If you ask people who liked this one, most will say they hate the second season because of the cheating storyline. I completely and utterly disagree. I have some minor gripes with how it ended but overall this is almost a perfect show IMO.
In Need of A Good Cry - Break-up, death, overall tragedy; for those nights you need to get it out. WARNING: some sad and tragic endings ahead.
⇢The Day I Loved You - I have a slightly controversial opinion about this one but the show is not a controversial recommendation at all. It’s plain good. I feel like it might be the only Filipino BL I’ve truly enjoyed and it’s definitely the only one you’ll find in this list. ⇢Eternal Yesterday - You go into this and you already know how much it’s going to break your heart but you never stop hoping for that happy ending. This one really devastated me because even though I knew it was going to end sadly, it managed to surprise me in the way it got there. ⇢HIStory3: Make Our Days Count - I’ve heard so many people say to just skip the end of the second to last episode and the whole of the finale and I get it. I would probably do the same upon rewatch but I don’t recommend skipping it if it’s your first time. Masterful character development and acting, I wish the rest of the HIStory series had maintained the same level of storytelling but alas, it didn’t. ⇢Kissable Lips - I didn't think vampires could make me this emotional. Way ahead of its time, we might never see another like this from South Korea. ⇢Life: Love on the Line - Frustrating at times, pays off in a big way at the end. Very few others have made me cry as much. NOTE: make sure to watch the director’s cut. ⇢The On1y One - Also a very recent addition. This one can truly boast doing the slow-burn right. There were a couple of episodes that got a little shaky toward the end and if it ends up not getting a second season, I might commit arson but damn if the emotional beats didn’t work in a big way. I was played and I didn’t even wanna watch it at first.
The Self-referentials - We love a story that knows its own genre.
⇢A Man Who Defies the World of BL - Pure and absolute comedy from Japan, it parodies and deconstructs every single trope there is. The comedy is very in-your-face but instead of cringing, it consistently makes me die with laughter. Technically ongoing but unsure whether it'll get a fourth season. ⇢Kabe Koji - I have to admit I don’t remember a lot about this show aside from how much it impressed me when I watched it and the people to whom I’ve recommended it with the caveat that at the beginning it seems a little silly and not that good have come back to tell me that it was totally worth the watch, which is exactly the feeling I remember getting from watching it and why I recommend it. It’s formative, I just don’t remember why. ⇢Lovely Writer - I specifically chose to watch this when starting to dive into Thai BL because it deals with the Behind the Scenes of how BL shows are made and it was essential to my understanding of how fanservice works in this specific industry and definitely put me on the right path to find out more on the subject. Other than that, it’s fairly good and fluffy though I’m not a fan of one specific trope it uses.
Genre Outliers - BLs that like to mix it up a bit.
⇢He/She/It - Short and weird. I feel like this is very much one of a kind and I would watch it if only because it’s so damn intriguing even though it could have flourished with a bigger budget. However, it’s lovable also because it’s so obviously a small-budget project. ⇢Love for Love’s Sake - It definitely deserves the reputation it gets. It starts with catapulting you into one story and perfectly uses it to mirror the actual point of the show. The love story is excellent and the medium it uses in-world was a stylistic and instrumental dream. It knows exactly what it’s doing and it’s a masterful execution of the isekai genre while also keeping well within the BL world. ⇢The Warp Effect - Stretching the definition of BL a little as technically, the protagonist is a straight (up for debate) dude. That isn’t to say this isn’t very much a queer story with compelling queer characters and a fair dose of fun. I also absolutely adore how it talks about sex and feel like its approach to the topic is extremely sensitive and well-done. Plus, it’s genuinely funny. ⇢Till the World Ends - I will forever be grateful to Jay for convincing me to give this a try. It’s a little gorey and none of the characters are very good people – aside from Art. The fact that it came from a smaller, almost indie studio is incredible and it is brave as hell for choosing the subject matter it did and executing it the way it did. Michael Kiettisak is the love of my life (though this is not the show that originated my undying love for him, do ask me about it). NOTE: some of the videos on YT are membership-restricted but censored versions are available on the original channel.
Complicated Recs - Shows I have trouble recommending without a disclaimer but trust me, you need to see them.
⇢Secret Crush on You - I can’t possibly explain in just two or three sentences why you should watch it. It’s cringey, it’s ridiculous, and so so hard to get through but!!!! Just come talk to me about it if you want to know more ‘cause my thoughts about this are so conflicting I can’t get into it here. If you get through this one, you can get through anything. Just watch it and then come yell at me because you hated it and hold me responsible for convincing you. ⇢TharnType - This is even harder to justify than the previous one. Simply put: it is so wildly popular and well-known, you just have to experience it for the culture. On the other hand, I maintain that with a few tweaks – and they would genuinely be just a few though some of them major –, this show could have been groundbreaking. Again, if you want me to say more than that, you’ll have to leave me an ask. + Special 1, Season 2 & Special 2
Underrated Gems - Nobody talks about them and I’m very sad about it.
⇢The Best Story - Short, sweet, heart-breaking. A very overlooked show if you consider it stars YinWar and even though it’s one of the first they did together, it already showcases how well they work as a pair. One day, I will get the epilogue I deserve. ⇢Dear Doctor, I’m Coming for Soul - I cannot understand why this doesn’t get recommended in the same breath as Manner of Death. I found it completely by accident and loved it instantly. Stylistically, very much in the same category as MoD for me though I might like the emotional beats in this one a little more. ⇢Light on Me - So underrated. It has such a gentle touch with dealing about young love. Perfect display of how tender and delicate teenage love can be, it made my heart clench and filled me with joy. ⇢Long Time No See - Some of the older Korean BLs are surprisingly forward compared to what we get today and this is only one, excellent example of it. While it does have some spice, you should also watch it for the plot. Short and extremely lovable. ⇢Love Is Better the Second Time Around - Why 👏 does 👏 nobody 👏 talk 👏 about 👏 this 👏 show!!! 👏 The music choices alone made it such an entertaining watch. I can only describe this as unexpected. ⇢Love Class - I can't understand the absolute loathing I’ve seen people have for this show at all, especially for the second season. I loved it, both times. I especially loved the secondary couples in the second season but both times I was blindsided by how much I enjoyed it and how much of a left turn it took. Came for the romance, stayed for the plot twists. + Season 2 (not a continuation of the previous season) ⇢Our Days - This is another show I remember very little about aside from being very struck by the stylistic choices. The plot isn’t especially original but I was very intrigued by its pacing and its narrative style which is what stuck with me. I'm including it because I watched it fairly early in my BL watching experience and it definitely primed me for shows coming from lesser-known studios. ⇢Rak Diao - I will never ever get over the fact that this didn’t get a second season. Not only did it need it, it deserved it. This is shot like a sit-com, which means fake laughter and the kind of comedy that comes with that but it gets unexpectedly deep as it goes and does a wonderful job of conveying the emotions throughout the progression of the love story. I would have never expected to like it as much as I did, it holds a very dear place in my heart. ⇢Something In My Room - Such a lovely and heartwarming show despite the sad ending. I don’t really have the words to describe it, I just really loved it and would like for more people to know it.
Personal Faves - Are these good? That’s irrelevant. I love them, therefore they’re the best.
⇢The End of The World With You - This show was a journey. I knew exactly where it was going but it made me excited to find out how it would get there. The ending is a little goofy solely because of the low-budget VFX but emotionally, it really worked for me. ⇢Theory of Love - This is quite literally my problematic fave. I always skip most of the side plots when rewatching it and it’s the show I managed to trap my best friend into watching BL with. I genuinely adore KhaoThird’s story, I know a lot of people don’t like how their relationship begins but I think the character development is just done so well that it makes it work. Plus, I love the way it combines all the references into its own story and the Special EP always makes me tear up a little. Huge, huge emotional attachment to this one on my part. ⇢The Time of Fever - Technically, this is a spin-off prequel. It tells the story of the secondary couple from Unintentional Love Story and how they got to the point we find them in that one. It’s beautiful both aesthetically and story-wise. The acting is just excellent and the chemistry is out-of-this-world. I would personally recommend watching ULS first, then this one, then only the DongHee and HoTae parts from ULS again but it’s up to you. I will get that DongHeeHoTae-centric second season or die trying. + Unintentional Love Story (main story) ⇢To My Star + Season 2 - This show, to me, is a staple but I feel like it doesn’t tend to make the big names list. It is not only in my top three BL shows but also in my list of favourite shows ever of any genre. It’s absolutely essential to watch season two as it is quite different from the first one and much more developed. In general, I like season two a little more than the first but that does not mean the first is lacking in anything. It’s very marginal. Genuinely, this show can play my emotions like maybe only one or two others I’ve watched.
This concludes this very long and self-indulgent list of recommendations. If you’ve gotten this far, thank you so much for reading and please do shoot me an ask or a comment or a DM if you want to talk about any of these shows or others with me, it would genuinely make my day!
A/N 1: some of the titles in this list have an ‘extended universe’ situation going on. Feel free to contact me if you need help navigating it. A/N 2: just because they’re in this list, does not mean I consider all these shows to be the top of the crop. These are specifically shows that I think would be ideal for a beginner to get into the genre, there are many many others that I would readily recommend that didn’t make the cut and that I would be glad to elaborate on if asked. A/N 3: if you ever find yourself thinking “What the hell are they even saying??” while reading this, just imagine me adding an “in my opinion” to the end of every sentence.
#thai bl#korean bl#taiwanese bl#japanese bl#jbl#kbl#thbl#bl series#gmmtv#kdrama#thai drama#japanese drama#jdrama#boys love#reclist#rec list#mushie has opinions#will this even show up in the tags with how many links it has
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@incandescentflower this afternoon: you should watch Triage if you want a good time loop story
Me six hours later: halfway through Triage, foaming at the mouth, resentful of my need for sleep
#this show has been on my list for so long#and i knew it was good bc sammon#but wow#i will probably finish it tomorrow#triage#thai bl#shan shouts into the void
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Top 5 moments of yearning in 2023 bl (no cheating you can only pick 5)
WOW. wowowowowowow. Wow. It's almost as though you saw my other answers before asking this (which I know you didn't because this came in first and I am Slow). Rude.
First, I need to establish a very important distinction: Pining (my beloved) is when you think or are determined that it will never happen; yearning (also my beloved) is when you think it could and are really struggling to hold yourself back from just going for it right now for Reasons. The possibility of fulfillment is the main difference.
Second distinction: Yearning is not necessarily sexual tension. It can be an element of it, but yearning is about wanting something, whether that's sex, closeness, acceptance, or something else. It's about wanting existing barriers to drop that are preventing you from having the thing you want most in that moment, whether they're internal or external, physical or metaphysical.
Finally, as much as I would love to talk about only my favourite shows exclusively forever, you did ask for my top five moments rather than top 5 shows that contain yearning, so I stuck to the rules. All that is to say, there are a couple of series on this list that I don't actually recommend lol
With that out of the way:
Top [For Real Only] 5 Moments of Yearning in 2023 BLs Because Shan Hates Me
1. Jae Won yanking and then patting down Ji Hyun before putting him in a cab, The Eighth Sense
Basically this whole show is yearning (except for the brief interlude for pining). I chose this moment because this was the first moment I was certain they both actually knew what was going on and it was clear to them both that they could have this, at least in theory; the tension felt palpable, and I really wasn't sure whether they were going to hold back or not. Jae Won is supposed to be saying goodbye, but he can't keep it in to the point where he just can't stop touching Ji Hyun (that backpack pull that happens immediately before this, guh), and Ji Hyun is also so clearly soaking it up. When the cab pulls up and they just keep staring, there was a real question in my mind about whether they were going to break and just go for it or not. For these two it's not just about sex; they yearn for version of one another they are when they're together, and they don't want the spell to end.
2. Khun Lu and Ken almost kiss while naked in bed, Chains of Heart
I'm still not entirely sure I know what happened in that show, but the yearning between these two was palpable the whole time. In this particular scene, Ken has just seen a hint the previous night that Lu is in fact Din, his missing-presumed-dead lover, and he's already previously rejected Lu on the premise that Din is still alive and is the only man he'll ever love, even though he feels drawn to Lu. Up until then, his yearning was for Din, though he also felt something for Lu. Now suddenly he's presented with the possibility that he's already reunited with his lover, which is all he wants, though he's unsure that's what's happening. On the other side of this equation, Lu has been wanting as much of Ken as he can charm, trick, or beg for. He just wants him now, here, under the pretense of this new body, because he knows Ken will never be safe if Din is thought to still be alive. At the same time, he is torn between wanting to be near Ken to keep him safe and wanting to stay away to keep him safe. Yearning barely covers it.
3. The post-sex breakdown of Yai and Jom in I Feel You Linger In The Air
This scene was particularly painful because the yearning only hits harder after his orgasm, rather than the catharsis Jom was probably expecting. In this scene they weren't just yearning for one another physically like in earlier parts of the show; they are yearning for a future they can't have together but both want and in this moment feels like it should be possible. Yai really looks like he wants to meld into Jom's skin. The way that sex does not break the yearning is quietly devastating. Is there anything worse than having everything you want in your arms but knowing you can't keep it?
4. Patts desperate to get through to Saengai on the other side of the door, La Pluie
@liyazaki the tumblr gif search is not crediting you properly so adding a tag to you here!
Listen, Patts has been yearning for reciprocation from his soulmate for years before he meets Saengtai, and it did not at all stop once they met, it just changed in quality. He's always yearned rather than pined because with soulmates comes the expectation that it will work, because of 'destiny'. We saw him say in a flashback that he thought his soulmate could be platonic, and I do believe him when he says to Nara that he'd be fine with that, because what he really yearns for is to be understood and wanted for himself (hence the heartbreaking line "is it that hard to choose me?" that comes before this). The fact that someone had a "destined" connection to him and rejected him for years took a real toll on this man. The way he claws at the door in this scene will stay with me into 2024.
5. Minato and Shin at the Onsen, Minato's Laundromat s2
As much as I dislike where this season went, a yearning list would not be complete without Shin and Minato. We spend a lot of time with Shin's yearning in this show, but we get glimpses that Minato is actually yearning too throughout the season and especially at the onsen. In this scene, he tries to get drunk to get past his own insecurities, but it doesn't work as well as he wanted. This scene was all about Minato articulating all the ways he also yearns, and how it's overwhelming for him--and how that overwhelm is frustrating. I love this outpouring of Minato's frustration around his own internal blockers to what he wants. Also Shin swallowing in this gif makes it perfectly clear he is also Suffering. Perfection.
Bonus and it doesn't count as cheating because it's not a BL SO THERE:
Sam and Mon comforting one another after Sam's grandmother found out about their relationship, GAP
This show was such a mess but my god these two women wanted one another so badly, and I appreciated the hell out of that. It felt like yearning rather than pining until near the end, because all through their getting together phase they insisted on such an intense level of denial that they didn't even seem to worry about what they wanted being impossible, they just knew they didn't have it yet. So they did things like bite one another and pretend it was platonic and wonder why they weren't satisfied. I was thinking about going with an early scene where they barely resist the urge to make out, but instead I went with this one because I think it's a double-whammy. in this scene, Sam is trying to get Mon to tell her what's wrong, and Mon confesses that Sam's grandmother saw her at her house and asked her to leave Sam. Instead of pulling away, Mon clings to Sam, and Sam apologizes to her for not being there for her. Sam thinks she can talk her around to accepting Mon. "Don't worry; I'll talk to her. We'll get through this". The yearning here is for them to be together and safe; accepted by their families and happy, and not feeling this pain. I don't recommend this show, but there is something to be said for the way it showed the impact of intergenerational trauma and the very real yearning so many of us feel to just be accepted as we are.
#2023 round-ups#bl meta#multi bl#thank you for the ask!#also I hate you#this was so hard#the eighth sense#chains of heart#i feel you linger in the air#ifylita#la pluie#minato's laundromat#gap the series#i really struggled with this all day damn#the two i most hated to cut are actually from shows I recommend over chains of heart or minato's laundromat s2#which were from Love in Translation and My Beautiful Man Eternal#but this was a moments list not a series list#I had to be honest#anyone reading these lists for recs#take note of these tags lol
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BL WRAPPED 2023
thanks for the tag @distant-screaming (here)! I decided to get a little creative with it, and also customized it a bit to myself (I'm not a big soundtrack or fanfiction person).
This also functions more or less as my "First Year in BL" post - I watched my first BL in mid January 2023, made this sideblog in mid March 2023, and I haven't looked back since.
I'm going to tag @airenyah, @chickenstrangers, @colourme-feral, @sollucets, @twig-tea, @waitmyturtles, and @williamrikers to do any version of a wrap up they please (or none at all!). I'm also curious to see other people's years summed up, so if you're reading this feel free to tag me - I haven't been on Tumblr much lately so I know I've missed things.
#bl wrapped#bl superlatives#tag game#😅 if you give me the chance to make a powerpoint I WILL take it#technically my most listened to soundtrack is Start Over (시작) by Gaho (but I haven't seen Itaewon Class... nor is it a BL)#[though I've been hearing 'What Zabb' from Cooking Crush a lot lately thanks to a certain someone (you know who you are)]#and I did read a couple fics for Bad Buddy and Only Friends? if you're really curious#if I was really trying to tell on myself the categories would be: shows started and unfinished/shows on to-watch list/tag games unplayed...
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Late top 5 ask because I just thought of it: 5 shows that you are always down to rewatch
What a great question that is also such a mean and incredibly evil thing to ask me, wen-kexing-apologist, Chronic Rewatcher lmfao
So fun fact I have seen KinnPorsche 14 times, Our Flag Means Death 11 times, The Old Guard 11 times, Heartstopper 11 times, The Eclipse probably 6 times, Bad Buddy and ITSAY 4 times, etc, etc, etc. And those are counting all the times I have watched a show all the way through. This is not counting the number of times I have actively gone back to watch specific episodes or specific scenes.
See the problem is sometimes I hyperfixate and then I just have to watch it until it is out of my system, sometimes an OST pops in to my head and then I get the urge to watch the show again, and sometimes I agree to edit the transcripts for the backlog of @the-conversation-pod and @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup start talking about a show and I'm like "ahhh good times! I should rewatch that!"
So you can imagine the stress I am under. I'll have to do this by category
Show I Am Constantly Rewatching: Bed Friend
gif by @perths
I know what you may be thinking, and yes you are correct I am in this rewatch for Uea's emotional journey. Uea is my sweet summer child, I love him, I have adopted him in to my family, his happiness is my happiness and I love love love watching him go from a quiet, reserved, unhappy character who keeps getting put in unfair situations through no fault of his own in to this confident, vibrant, happy person who is on his way towards healing. Often times it can be hard for me to pick A Favorite thing; a favorite character, a favorite scene because there are so. many. good. ones. But I am constantly, and I mean constantly rewatching the scene in Episode 8 where Uea tells King about his past. I have lost count of how many times I've seen it, no even kidding I watched that scene before I went to bed just last week. I will always always be down to watch that show because I love seeing how far my boy is able to grow with just a little bit of love, care, and therapy.
Show I Would Rewatch for an Instant Mood Boost: If It's With You
gif by @jimmysea
I have a difficult time understanding/feeling emotion in my body unless I abstract it in to fiction. So when I experience strong emotions it is typically when something super happy or super tragic happens on screen, in a book, during my D&D game, etc. One of my absolute favorite things is when something makes me so happy that my body is no longer able to contain it and I have to do the Neurodivergent Hand Flappies(TM). I think I spent 80% of this show grinning so hard it hurt my face and doing the Neurodivergent Hand Flappies because it just...they made me so happy. Amane is so sweet, and he deserves happiness, and he is getting his happiness and he's just full of sunshine and I already rewatched this show like immediately after it finished. This show joins my This Could Fix Me list.
Show I Would Be Down to Rewatch for Emotional Catharsis: Eternal Yesterday
gif by @duckflyfly
I have not rewatched this show...yet. But I want to, and I know that I will eventually. I can only imagine that it is sadder and more evil the second time around. I cried soooo hard over this show. But it is beautiful, and it is healing, and the pain is a good type of aching pain that comes with coming to terms with grief. With acknowledging grief. With finding where the beauty and peace lie within death and memory, and the way its claws dig in to you and leave you changed forever. Ghosts can be warm, and this show makes me warm despite it all.
Show I Would Be Down to Rewatch for Content: I Told Sunset About You/I Promised You the Moon
gif by @thii-nii
I think I am in @shortpplfedup's camp about how you find new things to think about every time you watch this show. I actually desperately, desperately own I Promised You the Moon several rewatches because I have seen ITSAY four times at this point and IPYTM once. I am currently rewatching IPYTM with a friend who is seeing it for the first time, so that should help. But the first time I watched this show I was unable to function to notice anything, and it wasn't until the third time I'd watched ITSAY when I was rewatching it to prepare for the podcast panel, that I finally was able to form any level of coherent analytical thought to it. So I would rewatch this at any point just to see what more I could pull out of it.
Show I Would Be Down to Rewatch But Haven't Yet: 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us
gif by @dingyuxi
Bold, based on how intense of a reaction I had to this show, I know. But this was one of my favorites, I never wrote anything about it because I was too busy having a literal mental breakdown over it, one that was so bad I almost had to bail on the entire show with like...20 minutes left of it, and I originally nixed my plan to show it to a friend. BUT I have watched the specific scene that did me in (and only that scene) and it went over fine once I knew to expect it so I do want to watch the whole thing again. I have a friend who I have been forcing to watch BL shows I liked and I watch them with her, and this is on the list. However, I am currently running her through I Promised You The Moon and What Did You Eat Yesterday? Season 2 so this show is still quite a ways out from a rewatch because I am not a total monster and want to give her some modicum of emotional break between those two shows and 180 Degree.
Bonus:
Show I Would Never Rewatch: Enchante
I hate this show truly an unreasonable amount. I hate Theo so much oh my fucking god. I refuse to watch this again and I'm mad that I finished it.
ASK ME MY TOP 5 OF ANYTHING BL
#best of bl#ask game#bed friend#bed friend the series#if it's with you#kimi to nara koi wo shite mite mo#eternal yesterday#eien no kinou#i told sunset about you#itsay#i promised you the moon#ipytm#180 degree longitude passes through us#180 degree#180d#the true answer to this is: my list of shows i'm always down to rewatch is long#my list of shows i will never rewatch is very very *very* short
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The Thai Communal Wardrobe item #72
The Warp Effect ep 10:
UMG ep 9:
for @slayerkitty from @respectthepetty 💙💛
#the warp effect#umg#umg the series#unidentified mysterious girlfriend#the thai communal wardrobe#a bl advent#pet suggested something black or spooky for you kitty#for 'charting the episodes of Shadow and telling [her] when something scary would happen#so [she] would be less afraid watching them'#and this was the best I could do#so I hope you like it!#also these two eps aired three months apart#and sing and namtan have both worn another item on the list in these two shows
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🖇️BL WATCHLIST FEBRUARY
🎬To Be Continued - 3PLUS | NETFLIX - I won't be able to watch this as it airs which doesn't stop me from making heart eyes at Fluke Pongsapat. 🥰
🎬Time - GAGAOOLALA - I'm mostly watching this so I can figure out what M.Flow saw in this script.
🎬1000 Years Old - GAGAOOLALA - New favourite show detected.
🎬Playboyy - GAGAOOLALA - 🍌🍍🍈🍎🍑🍐
🎬For Him - IQIYI - Messy uni bl my beloved.
🎬City of Stars - IQIYI - This is going to be my new low-stakes comfort BL - in best Star Hunter tradition.
🎬The Sign - YOUTUBE - The fantasy lakorn BL of my dreams.
🎬A Secretly Love - WeTV - My long awaited oldschool uni BL with Kut and Kimmon is finally coming. If this doesn't have an inter release I'll cry.
🎬Dead Friend Forever | DFF - IQIYI - Okay, now I'm invested - mostly in Jin staying alive.
🎬The Whisperer - YOUTUBE - Will we ever get to watch that last episode?
🖇️COMING UP
⭐Pee Nak 4 - CINEMA - I love these movies and I'm counting the days until I can finally watch this. Maybe this time we'll even get some MeanPlan as a treat.
⭐Man Suang - NETFLIX - It's supposedly coming to netflix globally and in an extended version.
🖇️FINISHED
🎬7 Days Before Valentine - WeTV - This beautiful show has my whole heart and I'm going to miss it.
🎬Pit Babe - This wasn't supposed to consume my whole llife.
➕ MDL | ABOUT | ALL WATCHLISTS | COMMENTARY TAG | THAI BL NOVELS
#jane watches stuff#bl watchlist#all of my favourite shows are ending#and i'm not even sure what gmmtv is doing because i'm still on my gmmtv hiatus#i'll update this list as soon as i get new info
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SERIES VS. COUPLE
Do your favorite BL couples match your favorite BL series?
I feel like this must be a phenomenon, so I want to see what other people's lists look like. \:D/
These are mine. I'm very proud.
Voila:
TOP 3 SERIES: Be My Favorite, SOTUS, Until We Meet Again TOP 3 COUPLES: WinTeam, KongArt, KawiPi
Because, like, we judge series and character based on different criteria, right?
Be My Favorite shot to the top of my list by episode eight last year because the writing was immaculate (Waa took extra time to really hone the script, and it shows!), the directing is phenomenal (the behind-the-scenes footage and interviews show how much influence Waa had in bringing out the best in everyone), the premise is right up my alley (subjective, but y'know, favorites lists are subjective by nature), etc. etc. etc. It's just all-around an incredibly well-crafted show, so it's sitting pretty cozy up there at the top.
But!
When I think about couples, WinTeam and KongArt are firmly first and second.
WinTeam have been my favorite BL couple from Day ONE, and no one's even remotely challenged them since even though Between Us is somewhere around #5 or #6 on my list (depending on how much of the series I choose to selectively forget).
And KongArt? We saw them grow from age 19/20 to, like, 26/27? (I haven't math'd the years in a while, but the Our Skyy episode is definitely set during their late twenties.) Experiencing that much development for a BL couple is rare, and their relationship is portayed so beautifully.
So, y'know, both lists are completely subjective and don't always have anything to do with quality or whatever. WinTeam are my favorite couple because Win's my favorite character archetype and Team is a sassy traumatized gremlin, and Be My Favorite is my favorite series because holy shit I love gay time travel and it's the only series I've seen that's treated leitmotifs seriously.
SO TELL ME YOURS. \:D/
#i think it's a fun phenomenon and i'm curious what other people's lists look like#also just for clarity: i made this in the spirit of fun fandom nonsense#i also posted this to twitter but i'm not sure if people will take it in good faith or#y'know#fight about it#if they do i'll delete it there#the antagonism across all online spaces is widespread and really exhausting but i'm trying to counter it with positivity#i will spongebob my way through your anger#with my silly little canva graphics and my carefully selected screenshots from my little gay hallmark shows#thai bl#bl series#be my favorite#sotus the series#until we meet again#winteam#kongart#kongarthit#kongpob x arthit#kawi x pisaeng#kawipi#this was on twitter for five minutes before someone managed to get antagonistic about it#so it now lives exclusively here
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you know when the actors do the intimacy workshops and they always have that one exercise they do where they have to eat something together until it gets so small they're basically kissing like...
...anyway...some on screen couples kiss like they're still trying to nibble something without touching each other...
#feel free to list your fav examples#LMFAO#thai bl#bl dramas#japanese bl#taiwanese bl#korean bl#asian bl#acting workshops#intimacy workshops#we best love is not an example of them being like that in the show by the way#they ATE in we best love#they ate#it's not just me right? you can just see it sometimes that they are like trying not to kiss while kissing ;A;
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Top BL of 2023
2023 is over and I felt like doing my top picks for this year again! Looking back there were a lot of good ones that I enjoyed a lot this year, and so I did not restrict myself to 5. As my sister judging me from across the couch said, "there's no rule do what you want". Fair enough.
This is from the BLs that ended in 2023, though some started in 2022.
8. Kiseki dear to me
I didn't care all that much for the main couple in the end, but Ai Di and Chen Yi? Worthy of obsession. @leofiat-bunny made a cut, for your consideration.
7. Why r u? Korea
I'm an absolute fan of the original against my better judgment and I was looking forward to this one. It doesn't have much to do with the Thai version in the end but I still enjoyed it a lot, both stories.
6. My school president
This was just lovely from start to finish. I really appreciated how they portrayed teenage turmoil and how soft and gentle this was.
5. My Personal Weatherman/Taikan Yoho
Needed a Japanese title on that list and this one was the best of the year by far. Unhinged and horny from start to finish.
4. Wedding plan
This one probably wins the top spot for best surprise of the year. I watched it late after it was completed because I didn't hear much about it but it was lovely. Wrote a fic for them.
3. Be my favourite
Time travel is my weakness and those two were great together.
2. Bed friend
And this one gets the price for most rewatched. So hot, very angst, obsessed with them both. Wrote not one but two pieces for this fandom, one from Uea's POV and one from King's.
1. Moonlight chicken
Left me on the floor. That first ep when they walk around town lives rent free in my head. All the relationships got to me but none more than Jim and Li Ming's. And thus, another fic.
Honorable mention cause I couldn't list them all
The Wrap Effect, The Eighth Sense, Love in Translation, Laws of Attraction, Bokura no Shokutaku/Our Dining Table, Hidden Agenda
Ask away for top BL things. I like lists.
#thai bl#bl shows#kbl#jbl#moonlight chicken#bed friend#bed friend the series#be my favorite#be my favourite the series#wedding plan the series#my personal weatherman#taikan yoho#my school president#why r u korea#kiseki: dear to me#top bl 2023#min#enjoyed myself this year#it's good that the ones airing rn will finish in 2024#or this list would have had to be much longer
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10 BL boys I want carnally <3
Thank you for tagging me to do this @blneobin <3 I'm a little behind on this but i FINALLY have time today to write it so here we go! I've had so much fun reading all the one's I've seen thus far~
Keita Machida - Kurosawa (Cherry Magic Japan)
I absolutely ADORE this man. Attentive and kind and he's ssooo pretty. He is 5'11" (180cm), I want to climb him like a tree, thank you. I would do anything he asked. I have watched this show so many times in the last 6 months since i first watched it, its a little ridiculous. (eepy Kurosawa...oh how i adore him)
Khaotung Thanawat - Ray (Only Friends)
I love this man so much it hurts. I adore everything I've watched him in thus far but there is a /reason/ Ray is pictured in my about me on this blog. I related to Ray so much and his and Sand's scenes....oh wow... I have so many edits and gifs saved in a folder on my computer of this man, I am unwell about it (someone should recreate their dancing in the parking garage scene with me...)
Nut Supanut - Solo/Way (Oxygen/PitBabe)
I adored Nut in Oxygen (is it a little stiff, yeah, but i still liked it) I am a sucker for puppy like characters like Solo and hes just so incredibly Handsome. And Way is just...oh my god. Nut is legit the one of two reasons I started watching PitBabe. (Obsessed with the fact that Way is still kinda Puppy coded. He can take his frustration out on me, I'd consent to that)
Jimmy - Peun/Mohk (Vice Versa/Last Twilight)
I enjoyed Vice Versa and Jimmy immediately caught my attention when I watched it. And now with watching Last Twilight, many of my friends know just how UNWELL I am about this man. Mohk is so kind and attentive and he's so so handsome I cannot handle it. I made so many people watch the clip of him getting angry with August. When he got super quite? Lost my mind. (Look at him...look at his arms, are you kidding me??)
Ja Phachara Suansri - Leo/Punn (Don't Say No/Be Mine SuperStar)
THIS MAN IS 6'2" (188cm) THAT'S NOT FAIR. HE'S SO TALL (i'm a little jealous...) Ja is so pretty and him just throwing around First in Don't Say No like he was nothing? I lost it. The scene in the pool in Be Mine SuperStar where Punn and Ashi are talking and then Punn stands up? I was UNWELL (Punn is also another Puppy coded character and I will forever be a sucker for it)
Perth - Ae/Kanghan (Love By Chance/Dangerous Romance)
When I tell you some weird things came out of my mouth when I was telling my friends about Perth, I wish I was kidding (@darkroseespeon can attest to that). He's so incredibly ridiculously handsome and his smile is absolutely infectious. He's another that I would do anything they asked. (cue to me just repeatedly saying "he's so pretty" as i was trying to find a gif...)
Nat Thewphaingam - Nawin (Laws of Attraction)
I was living with some roommate when I was watching Laws of Attraction and they had a good laugh watching me LOSE MY SHIT when this man came on screen. I was immediately obsessed with Nawin. The bgm, the bloody tank, and the brass knuckles? I was a gonner. Truly in love with his antics and i would give a lot to be under him. (do you see his arms? the lighting? just...HIS FACE?)
Ji Sub - Jae Won (The Eighth Sense)
OMG one, this show is so important to me. Two, Ji Sub is a meal I could eat every day. I don't even have much more to say than that. He's just so handsome and he had such sad eyes... Jae Won, once they're finally boyfriends, is so sweet I just adore it so much. I love this man. (He was so cute in this scene I cant...)
Us Akkarachotsopon - Tay (Kinnprosche)
Tay is fully the embodiment of my never ending delima of do i want him or to i want to /be/ him???? His fashion sense is glorious and I will never be over it. The minute I start talking about it, its hard to get me to shut up. I would give ssoo much to take care of Tay and love him like he deserves. (Where the post that's like "i'll do anything for a boy with big brown eyes" or something like that. Also, this shirt?? I need it.)
Kiseki: Dear to Me
Am I cheating a little bit by talking about all four of them? Maybe. But I have made SO many people who are not into BLs watch this show FOR A REASON. I love it so much and I love all of them so dearly. AiDi and ChenYi's fashion? IMPECCABLE I'm obsessed and want to recreate some of their looks so bad. All their scene once they're finally together??? unbeatable to me. omfg. ZongYi and ZeRui's kitchen scene?? In shambles. SHAMBLES (I have a stuffed animal I named ZongYi cause he's so precious to me...and I want to get one to name AiDi)
Aaaahhh this...took me way longer to write than anticipated. Though part of that time was looking through endless amounts of gifs. to which, thank you to the gif makers, y'all make my day (haha xD) I have no idea who hasn't done this yet, (@mb-bls idk if you have or would want to?) but if you see this and want to do it, tag me so I can read it!!!!
#aaaahhhh thank you again dear for taggging me!!!#this was soooo fun#Its a bit ironic that the first real post i make myself on this blog is this one lmao#very on brand for me imo#I just kept looking up and down my list of all the shows I've watched thus far and picking characters/people was suuuuch as struggle lmao#There's definitely a couple of patterns that are easy to pick up on when it comes to who i gravitate towards haha!#multi bl#mutuals my beloved#<3#ironnoises
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Hi axelle! 😸 I've seen almost all bls but I haven't watched any gmmtv het show. which one would you recommend to a newbie? I prefer something light and funny. my favorite actors are Off, Gawin and Neo
hi! I'm glad you're gonnna give non bl thai dramas a chance, and as for your fave actors... TASTE 😌 here's my fave non bl gmmtv shows from best to still good but not the best:
the gifted: simply an amazing & super unique show with very little flaws & one of the best open-endings ever. haven't been able to bring myself to watch the sequel so watch that at your own discretion.
midnight motel: my favorite show of the year so far, fun & quirky, super tight execution, great plot twists, iconic characters & simply one of the most underrated shows ever. contains off & neo so you'll love it 100%!
ps: I hate you: the best female-led show I've ever seen. there's messiness & drama and the characters are all super flawed but you still root for them! the performances are also incredible & this show is truly one of my all time faves!
angel beside me: the first more classic romcom of the list, but despite being kind of a silly premise with an angel falling on earth, it actually tackles some really deep issues like depression & poverty??? and the chemistry & bond between the characters was crazy good. I definitely recommend!
happy birthday: this show will make you cry for 13 eps straight but you'll love it. it has some of the best performances ever & is just the kind of show that hits you right in the chest with feels & beauty. absolutely one of my most beloved thai dramas.
a gift to the people you hate: such an underrated show but absolutely iconic! if you like messiness & plot twists, you'll love this one! it's just unhinged & has a really cool world-building!!!
girl next room: richy rich: since your 3 faves are off, neo & gawin I really recommend you watch this! richy rich is off's most popular straight series bc he's simply perfect in this role (and biconic!!!), and gawin is in the motorbike baby story as mook's second lead & he???? absolutely ate, he's so dreamy in that! neo is in every story & absolutely hilarious (especially in the scenes with off, you cannot miss girl next room!
love at first hate: classic romcom but the chemistry is some of the best & the male lead??? IS DADDY MCDREAMY!!! a really enjoyable series!
46 days: another series with the offmild pairing from girl next room, and this show is crazy but has such fun characters, great chemistry & even the villain is my fave??? the whole cast is the best & it's the only show by this director that is truly genuinely so good!
mint to be: another romcom with mook bc she's the romcom queen lol, this one is short & sweet, the chemistry is excellent & the cast is really fun. there's none of your faves in it BUT one of the characters is obsessed with off who's an idol in that show & she has pillows with his face on it and it's ICONIC!!!
who are you: one of the most acclaimed gmmtv shows, notably for its actresses namtan & jan who acted their ass off in it! it's a really well done show with insanely good acting, but the reason it's not higher on this list is that it's a bit forgettable? it was in my top 10 fave shows from 2021 though.
my dear loser: monster romance: another romcom with mook lol no one is surprised, this one actually really surprised me bc it was the first time I saw lee outside of his usual perfect role. look, I love the man but most of his roles are kinda... boring? and here he ate. the whole universe of the show is super different from usual & the love story is very cute, and honestly it immediately became one of my fave straight thai romances!
baker boys: another show where lee plays a really good role! this one contains queer characters but is not a bl at all. I LOVED the found family trope of it, and literally cried when it ended bc I got really attached to the characters & me crying when a show ends is a huge indicator that I loved it. sadly this show is pretty tainted now bc my fave character was played by foei who's famously an anti-lgbtq+ bitch so yeah... but if you can stomach his bigot face I'd say give it a try, pluem plays one of the cutest characters in existence!
(also just realized I completely missed the light & funny prompt lmao. the most light & funny shows in this list are: girl next room, love at first hate, 46 days & mint to be!)
xxx
#answers#gmmtv#the gifted#midnight motel#ps: I hate you#angel beside me#happy birthday#a gift to the people you hate#girl next room: richy rich#love at first hate#46 days#mint to be#who are you#my dear loser: monster romance#baker boys#didn't expect the list to be this long but gmmtv non bl shows are actually more often better than the bl ones LMAO
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2023 BL/GL/QL Round-Up Post
I thought for posterity I'd post a reflection on everything I watched that completed in 2023. For me, that means anything that started in 2022 but the last episode was in 2023 is on this list, but anything that will still be airing after 31 December 2023 11:59 my time (EST) is not on this list, even if the bulk of the show did air in 2023.
A few stats:
110 discrete pieces of content (series/films)
clocking in at est. 600 hours of NEW BL/GL content only
from 9 different countries (Cambodia [1], Philippines [3], Hong Kong [1], Japan [18], Korea [19], Myanmar [1], Taiwan [6], Thailand [56], Vietnam [7])
~50% of the content I watched on this list is from Thailand
~85% of my content was on YouTube [40%], GaGaOoLaLa [23%] and iQIYI [21%].
[Note that this year a lot of older GMMTV shows moved off of YouTube and onto Viki so if you're looking at these stats to decide what to pay for, this won't account for that.]
This doesn't include re-watches or catching up on old shows [e.g. I re-watched Love Sick, My Ride the Series, Semantic Error, ITSAY/IPYTM, Our Dating Sim at least 3 times lol, and anything with a s2 I re-watched s1 to prep, among others, watched Fujoshi Ukkari Gei no Kokuru (2019) for the first time] or non-QL [e.g. Heartstopper s2, Our Flag Means Death s2, Taskmaster s. 15 & 16, Uncanny Counter s2, One Piece s1, etc.] but does include films as well as shows, though I don't count special episodes separately (so Wedding Plan counts once, though I watched both the show and the special).
I hope you all appreciate that with this much content, and with my general brand of being unable to make decisions, I really struggled to narrow down a top 10 list. What follows is the best I could do lol
Top 20 Shows I'd Recommend From This Year:
Moonlight Chicken
Our Dating Sim
Bed Friend
The Eighth Sense
La Pluie
Sing My Crush
Tokyo in April Is...
Wedding Plan
Laws of Attraction
I Cannot Reach You
I Feel You Linger in the Air
What Did You Eat Yesterday S2
I Became the Lead in a BL Drama
If It's With You
Love in Translation
Our Dining Table
My Personal Weatherman
My Beautiful Man: Eternal
My School President
Be My Favorite
+10 I liked but I would only recommend with caveats:
Love Class 2
The New Employee [for the Rainbow Rice Cakes]
Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru
Never Let Me Go
Kiseki: Dear to Me
Unintentional Love Story
The Day I Loved You
End of the World with You
A Breeze of Love
Jack O'Frost
Bonus: Not a BL but worth calling out:
One Room Angel
Midnight Museum
Grand Guignol
The Warp Effect
Sadly, of the GLs that aired this year, I wouldn't recommend any of them. The best one was Show Me Love, which was not actually good but had very gorgeous women and a LOT of flirting.
The other huge thing that happened this year was that I stopped lurking! Thanks specifically to @lurkingshan and @bengiyo demanding everyone start talking about La Pluie, because they got me to post my first meta post. And because I started actually talking to people, I started making actual friends, and participated in organizing things like the Be My Favorite clown checkpoint for ep 11. I also disappeared a month because of life, and am still catching up on everything I intended to write this year. But it's been really rewarding finding this corner of tumblr with likeminded people who like good shows, like to think about these shows, and who are interested in talking about them in a way that's insightful and respectful.
It's been a long time since I felt comfortable enough participating actively in a fandom, and I just want to say to everyone I've interacted with this year: Thank you!
Full list under the cut for anyone curious! [Mostly in order it aired but may be slightly off].
Love Bill
Director Who Buys Me Dinner, The
Star Always Follow You, The
Cutie Pie 2 You
Between Us the Series (Hemp Rope)
Reason Why He Fell in Love with Me Special & S2 [international release]
New Employee, The
I Will Hit You/I Will Knock You
Individual Circumstances
609 Bedtime Story
GAPYuri / GAP the series
My School President
HitBiteLove the Series
Never Let Me Go
Moonlight Chicken
History 5: Love in the Future
Oh My God (ToDo) the Series
Warp Effect, The
End of the World, With You
My Blessing the Series
Our Winter (miniseries)
All the Liquors
Once in Memory: Let Me Be Yours
Shoulder to Cry On, A
Jack O'Frost
Our Dating Sim
Midnight Museum
Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend
My Colleague at BL Shop might be My Meant-to-Be
Unintentional Love Story
Chains of Heart
Bed Friend the series
Bad Brother the Series
Stormy Honeymoon
Eighth Sense, the
Bad Brother the Series
Future Series
Tin Tam Jai the series
Crush on You
House of Stars the Series
Happy Merry Ending
Boss and a Babe, A
Pastsenger the Series
Love Mate
Love Syndrome the Series
Promise the Series, The
Day I Loved You, The
Our Dining Table (Bokura no Shokutaku)
Our Skyy 2
My Story the Series
Starstruck
Love Tractor
Naked Dining
Luminous Solution, The
Omai Series / Is My Roommate A Foreigner
Stupid Genius
Step By Step
La Pluie the series
Tie the Not
Sing My Crush / Follow the Wind
Tokyo in April Is .../ Shigatsu no Tokyo wa
Senior Love Me?
Be My Favorite
Show Me Love
Dinosaur Love
Low Frequency
Stay Still
Stay By My Side
Jun & Jun
Wedding Plan the Series
Laws of Attraction, the
Love Class s2
Minato's Laundromat S2
Hidden Agenda
Bon Appetit
Why RU the Series [Korean adaptation]
Be Mine Superstar
Star, The Season 2
Love In Translation
My Beautiful Man: Eternal
My Personal Weatherman
Bump Up Business
Naughty Babe Series
Only Friends
Grand Guignol
Dangerous Romance
If It's With You / Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite Mo
Y Journey: Stay Like a Local
I Feel You Linger in the Air
Venus in the Sky
Kiseki: Dear to Me
I Cannot Reach You
You Are Mine
Breeze of Love / Weather Forecast of Love
Mr. Cinderella 2
Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru
One Room Angel
Marry My Dead Body
Lucky My Love the Series
Pure Vanilla: Recipe for Romance
Absolute Zero
Memories, The
My Dear Gangster Oppa
Shadow
What Did You Eat Yesterday? S2
Middleman Love
Beyond the Star
Bake Me Please
You and My Stars
I Became the Lead in a BL Drama
#2023 round-ups#bl meta#multi bl#typed so i can stop thinking it#twig talks#top lists are so hard for me this is the best I could do#if anyone wants to know anything about any of these shows feel free to ask!#best of bl 2023#long post
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Heyyyyyy beloved... TharnType and Don't Say No are now free, legal and full on YouTube... Ñaca ñaca >:3
Prim! I have Viki, so I could've done been watching them, but I haven't, which is why they are up for consideration for my Pride Petty Watch. However, I now know that I'm going to create my first poll in May, so y'all can pick which show I'm watching since I can't decide.
But I love that you mentioned those two shows because they are the extremes on my list. Don't Say No is the highest ranking show for me, and TharnType is the lowest, so if I hated Don't Say No after watching it or liked TharnType after watching it, I would be in crisis. TharnType is the whole reason Don't Say No and every other Mame show is on that list, so maybe I should face my demons and watch it. But then again . . . I don't know what the difference is between The Untamed and Word of Honor!
This is why y'all gotta pick for me. I can't decide, and my magic eight ball is no help here so poll in May, and if GMMTV announces a series with my favorite troublesome tykes by then, I'll watch TWO shows.
Let us all be blessed.
Amen.
Y salud.
#I gotta repay the BL gods#they have blessed me well in BL Land#and if I get my troublesome tykes back then I'll watch TWO shows#if I ever get Transplant I'LL WATCH THE ENTIRE LIST#amen
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The Thai Communal Wardrobe item #32
He's Coming to Me ep 3:
Wolf ep 12:
Vice Versa ep 5:
for @starryalpacasstuff 💙
#he's coming to me#vice versa#vice versa the series#the thai communal wardrobe#a bl advent#since the rainbow best sweater had already been published#I've given you something random as you suggested#it may not be a full rainbow but it is stripy and has four colours#and vice versa as a show has ALL the colours!#I found the middle one yesterday#so this should be higher on the list#(because it's been worn by more people)#but I can't change that now#also the top two eps aired less than a month apart#and the bottom one aired three YEARS and four months after that#so I wonder if it's been worn by someone else in between
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🖇️BL WATCHLIST JANUARY
🎬Time - GAGAOOLALA - I'm giving this one more ep to change my mind. I've never been this confused by a series before.
🎬7 Days Before Valentine - WETV - The crispest sound I've ever heard in a Thai drama. And so much symbolism, I love it!
🎬Playboyy - GAGAOOLALA - 🍌🍍🍈🍎🍑🍐
🎬For Him - IQIYI - Messy uni bl my beloved.
🎬Pit Babe - IQIYI - What have I gotten myself into with this? And why is Way my fave character?
🎬The Sign - YOUTUBE - The fantasy lakorn BL of my dreams.
🎬Dead Friend Forever | DFF - IQIYI - This is messy aand unintentionally funny but that's very on point for the slasher horror genre so I'm not complaining.
🎬My Universe - IQIYI - Lots of couples each with their own self-contained mini series (if you can even call it that). I'm watching this selectively.
🎬The Whisperer - YOUTUBE - I'm all caught up even though I can't watch it live for extremely weird geolocking reasons. Negl I don't even mind the ghosts and the cheating but why does everyone except Kun frequent the same hair salon?
I'm keeping the calendar view for this year because it's so useful:
🖇️FINISHED
🎬 Beyond the Star - IQIYI - I feel like whatever happened with 9naa (surprise surprise!) completely massacred this series. I was watching for Bank Chanwut only so I got my money's worth but damn, what was that?
🎬Twins - GAGAOOLALA - I love this series with my whole heart.
🖇️ON HOLD (aka I love these shows, I just don't have the time😭)
🎬Absolute Zero - IQIYI - I want to love this show - it's beautiful and bittersweet - but some of the plot leaves me puzzled.
🎬Shadow - GAGAOOLALA - I've been waiting for this series for so long. 😭
🎬Last Twilight - YOUTUBE - I'll tentatively watch this for JimmySea.
🎬Cherry Magic Thailand - YOUTUBE - This is going to be unbearably cute, I just know it.
🎬The Middleman's Love - IQIYI + YOUTUBE - This is moving very very fast, much faster than the novel. Consequently, Jade is very, very unhinged but that's why I love him.
🎬Cooking Crush - 26 November | YOUTUBE - OffGun means I'm in.
➕ MDL | ABOUT | ALL WATCHLISTS | COMMENTARY TAG | THAI BL NOVELS
#jane watches stuff#bl watchlist#not sure i'll watch it's complicated#but i thought i'd at least list it#i'm glad january will have only one new show for me#because i desperately need to catch up
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