#chinese webseries

[wlwcatalogue]

Chinese GL Webseries & Shorts for the Wuxia-Uninclined

Have you ever wanted to venture into the world of Chinese GL webseries and short films, only to find yourself at a loss about where to begin, or intimidated by the unfamiliar tropes and terms of the wuxia genre?

Well, worry no more! Here's a selection of non-wuxia webseries and short films curated by yours truly. Now you too can enjoy the lavish costumes and location shoots of these Chinese productions, so rarely seen in F/F works outside of feature films and the occasional TV series~

By the way, these are all translated and subbed by the inimitable Douqi (@douqi7s), whose immense contribution to the English-language baihe fandom is surely in breach of anti-monopoly laws. Offer up your thanks at her Tumblr and Twitter!

At-a-glance list

Webseries:

Ye-Mu Season 2 (1 hr 20m total, 2023) - standalone

The Vampires (41m total, 2022)

Ye-Mu Season 1 (27m total, 2022) - standalone

The Lost World (1hr 5m total, 2023)

Short films - order corresponding to the pictures above:

A Tale of Yearning (5 mins, 2022)

"She Brought Colour Into My World" (2.5 mins, 2023)

"I'm Her Weapon" (3 mins, 2022)

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord (6 mins, 2023)

Women's Script (5 mins, 2023)

The Caged Canary (5 mins, 2023)

The Beauty of the Law (6 mins, 2023)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither (9 mins, 2022)

Commentary under the cut!

FYI, I've opted to link directly to the subtitled versions since they're probably more difficult to find than regular anime, TV series, movies etc. If a link is broken, please refer to Douqi's blog directly.

Important note for the uninitiated:

It’s a bit difficult to talk about canonicity in relation to live-action works made in the PRC, as things which would normally be used as evidence of canonicity all fall under the censorship regulations— explicit references to romantic relationships or queerness, declarations of love, kissing etc. are all off the table. So while these may not look canon in the most traditional sense, they are intended to be read as such and should certainly not be dismissed as queerbaiting or yuribait. Also, the creators can get very imaginative, so this is less of a problem than you may think – see the entries on Ye-Mu Season 2 and The Lost World in particular!

1. Ye-Mu Season 2 / 叶穆 2 (32 episodes / 1hr 20m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Despite the name, Ye-Mu Season 2 is completely unrelated to the first season; the only thing the two share is the cast, crew, and focus on Penthouse-style melodrama.)

Determined to take revenge for her mother's death, Xu Baiqing (Sheng Wei) marries a wealthy and much older businessman in the hope of finding evidence to put him behind bars. But first she must assuage the suspicions of his cheerily hostile second daughter, moody youngest son, and estranged eldest daughter (Ye-Mu Zhixia, played by Wang Laoji), the latter of whom Xu Baiqing dated in university and who is currently seething at the sight of her former girlfriend marrying her father...

If you want to get a sense of the potential breadth of Chinese GL webseries, this is a pretty good place to start. It does a decent job of matching the tone and presentation of a melodrama you might catch on TV (and in fact looks higher-budget than some I can think of), while committing to something that can’t be done on TV yet— namely, featuring an F/F exes-to-stepmother storyline and delivering on the drama inherent in such a premise. Of particular note is how the framing and behaviour of Ye-Mu Zhixia is very much consistent with that of a male romantic lead; thanks to some clever writing, it’s basically impossible to deny the nature of her relationship with the main character. They don’t even lean on the plausible deniability afforded by the label of “friendship”— in fact, in an early scene she is incensed when the protagonist refers to her as “[her] only friend”. There are a few caveats – the main character ends up in a lot of scrapes that her ex-girlfriend has to save her from, the reveals are often rather unsurprising, and the story shifts more to a mystery focus around halfway – but it’s still worth checking out if a Korean-style melodrama with an F/F take on a romantic storyline sounds appealing.

 (CW: violence, murder, attempted sexual assault)

Note: See The Lost World (below), from the same creative team, for an even more impressive example of Chinese GL pushing the limits of censorship.

Links: MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

2. The Vampires / 吸血鬼鬼盲盒 (7 episodes / 41m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the first 15 minutes or so, because otherwise the summary would be “They end up locked inside with the monsters on board”, which wouldn’t tell you much more than the title already does)

Every night, Tianyue (Ye Miao/夜喵) has been having dreams about the mysterious cruise ship docked at the pier. Convinced that there is treasure hidden inside, she and her exorcist-cultivator girlfriend Xiao Ling (Wei Miao/微渺) sneak on board only to find that they are trapped there until the sun comes up. Things don’t seem too bad at first: although they run into two vampires – the cute, cheeky Xingming (Yang Fuyu) and her elegant mistress Su Tanya (Sheng Wei) – they are able to call a truce, on the condition that the humans help search the ship for the latter’s beloved (Fu Cha, played by Wang Laoji). But when Fu Cha wakes up without her memories, it is clear that something is terribly wrong, and that the ship and its inhabitants harbour more secrets than expected.

For a webseries, The Vampires takes a while to get started— it’s a bit difficult to tell what kind of story or indeed what kind of tone it’s going for just based on the somewhat campy and comedic first section. But after that wobbly beginning, it manages to pull itself together to tell a compelling – and sometimes genuinely tense – tale about a motley band of humans and vampires, and the truths they have to face together. While the ending is no happily-ever-after, I found it satisfying and hopeful, and surprisingly affecting. Also, a bunch of the characters have real polyam energy, and this is reflected in the narrative beyond mere flirting!

(CW: abusive parents)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation) / YouTube (compilation)

3. Ye-Mu Season 1 / 叶穆 (12 episodes / 27m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Ye-Mu Seasons 1 and 2 are standalone stories; each season is entirely self-contained and the second season is not a continuation of the first.)

The head of the Ye-Mu family has died, leaving the next generation to squabble over the inheritance. It's a web of secrets, lies, and hidden resentments, as the characters dig out old grievances and fresh accusations in a desperate attempt to one-up each other. They're tangled up together to an almost incestuous degree, and indeed, the F/F subtext here is the ambiguous relationship between eldest daughter Ye-Mu Nanzhu (Sheng Wei) and second daughter Ye-Mu Nanmo (Wang Laoji) (rest assured that they are at least not biologically related).

Those who prefer darker stories and don't mind the pseudo-incest or other content warnings will find a melodrama which makes good use of its short runtime to deliver on twists, turns, and an explosive - if tragic - conclusion. That being said, the story is about the family drama in general, so do note that while the relationship between Nanzhu and Nanmo is narratively important, it is not fleshed out in great detail and certainly not the focus of the series.

(CW: suicide, ableist trope (spoiler – disabled character turns out to have been faking it), ableist language)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

4. The Lost World / 夏夜知道风的甜 (1hr 5m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the purpose of flagging triggering content, as it’s particularly easy to trip into for this show. Also, some vague spoilers for later episodes in order to highlight in order to highlight the themes etc.)

This webseries feels like two shows smushed into one: apart from the very beginning, the first half is a gritty, bullying-focused take on university life, while the second is a true-blue romantic comedy (aside from one blip – see the note below for details). But even if you’re wary of the bullying, I would still recommend watching the back half – which is basically standalone – as it’s a very funny and heartfelt story about two childhood friends finally getting their act together. Without further ado, here’s two blurbs!

From episode 1 onwards: After saving a classmate from the class bully, popular college student Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) is subjected to a lengthy harassment campaign by the latter. She is suddenly faced with having to protect her reputation in the face of false allegations and fake nudes– despite the fact that all she wants to do is focus on reconciling with another classmate, a high school best friend whom she had previously lost touch with (Mu Qingfeng, played by Wang Laoji). From episode 14 onwards: Childhood friends Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) and Mu Qingfeng (Wang Laoji) are caught in a weird gay purgatory where each has feelings for the other, and suspects that the other has feelings for them too. But both are exceedingly stubborn and want the other one to take the initiative in confessing, leading to ridiculous displays of I-don’t-care-isms and lots and lots of UST. (Does anybody use that term anymore??)

As you may have guessed, I’m not too keen on the first part of this show, nor the decidedly unnecessary attempted rape segment, though that’s partly on me for not checking the content warnings beforehand. And yet I’m very glad to have stuck with it, because the second half is not only hilarious, but also a masterclass in censorship-dodging that needs to be seen to be believed. Not just in terms of the suggestive scenes, of which there are many, either— the story is literally about two women starting a relationship and having to reckon with parental disapproval, homophobia, and other obstacles which platonic friends wouldn’t have to deal with. I honestly don’t know how this ever got approved, and can only applaud. Bravo.

Note: For those who want to avoid the triggering content, I’d recommend starting at episode 14, but make sure to skip episodes 19 and 20 as there is a foiled rape attempt.

(CW for entire series: bullying (incl. violence, fake nudes), sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, fatphobic language, homophobia

CW for episodes 14-24: attempted sexual assault in episodes 19-20, homophobia)

Links - MEGA / Dropbox

SHORT FILMS

Quick note: Click on the English titles for the subtitled versions, and the Chinese titles (which are really just the video titles) for the originals. And yes, although the majority of these are shampoo commercials, they really do hold up as short films in their own right. Give them a try, you might be surprised!

A Tale of Yearning / 一见误终生，不见终生误 (5 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A bittersweet story about a literature-minded young woman (Sheng Wei) and a Chinese opera performer (Ai Ye) who bond over their love of fiction, only to be torn apart by harsh reality. Tragic ending, but I liked the more literary turn of the dialogue. Shampoo ad. (CW: homophobia)

“She Brought Colour Into My World” / “她走后，我的世界又失去了颜色” (2.5 mins, 2023, dir. Zou Hui Qu Le/走回去了) – A very restrained short film (actually, more like a music video) set during the late Qing era, wherein a sheltered young woman (Xiao Yu Za/小宇咂) falls for her female neighbour, recently returned from studying abroad (Sheng Wei). Lovely use of music and visuals to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Tragic ending. Not a shampoo ad.

“I’m Her Weapon” / 我是你手里的一把刀 (3 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A moody, interior piece about an assassin (Ai Ye) who yearns for some sign of affection from her handler (Sheng Wei), only to be left devastated by her new assignment. Surprisingly not a shampoo ad.

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord / 我们是孤独行走的钟，但也要做敲响希望的钟 (6 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – I’d like to describe this as being inspired by the story of Mai Jia’s novel The Message and the aesthetics of Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), but most Tumblr users would probably find those references deeply unhelpful. Basically, a female spy (Sheng Wei) disguises herself as a male soldier and infiltrates the mansion of a Republican warlord. There, she meets the warlord’s daughter (Ai Ye), who quickly realises that there is more to the promising young officer than meets the eye. Shampoo ad.

Women’s Script / 纵使“科考”无女子，无碍红袖书香，星辰有光 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – While sailing down a river, a girl (Zhi Chun He/至春禾) catches sight of a woman writing poetry on the riverbank (Sheng Wei), and is fascinated by both her beauty and her flaunting of the rules against women’s literacy. Shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence)

The Caged Canary / 如果这是��场骗局，那我也只愿意输给你 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – The protagonist (Ai Ye) is sent by her parents to beguile a wealthy young man into marriage, but ends up developing feelings for his modern-woman sister (Sheng Wei) instead. Shampoo ad. (CW: attempted sexual assault)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither / 她们一个被铁链禁锢，一个被男装束缚，直到救赎彼此 (9 mins, 2022, dir. Qian Li Min/千里明) – Takes the romance between a cross-dressing noblewoman (Du Ruo/杜若) and her supposedly-mad stepmother (Rou Lian Cheng/肉脸橙) to tell a story about the restrictions placed on women in historical times, and how resistance, even when futile, can still have meaning. Tragic ending, obviously. Not a shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence, misogyny, accidental misgendering, gender dysphoria)

[ge]

would like to hear u talk about any of your aus.. like legend of hei au or just any

YAY ok omg ill talk about this loh one cuz i just rewatched the movie the other night and im currently rewatching the webseries and it is so fresh on my mind and i am so passionate rn...jic any of yall hvnt seen the series and dk what im talking about ill give a brief run down of loh lore so yall have a little more context (smile

‘the legend of luo xiao hei’ is a chinese animated webseries that currently has two seasons and a 2019 prequel movie ‘the legend of hei’, about a young black cat spirit (specifically known as an elfin) boy named xiao hei and his adventures..the plot among all of the webseries and movie is broad so i wont get into specifics of that since my rotmhs loh au will take place in a rotmhs canon divergence type thang

the world of legend of hei takes place in a world in which humans and elfin coexist harmoniously, with elfin either being secretly intigrated into human society or live peacefully and reclusively in their natural habitation birthplaces or in a guild..elfin are immortal pure spirits who are formed by the coalescence of natures natural energy, though due to humans limited understanding throughout history they have regarded elfin as gods or demons due to their power and extraordinary capabilities..elfin also have the ability to shapeshift between the spirit form they were born in and their elfin form, which for the most part is typically humanoid looking (ex. xiao hei in spirit form is a little black cat w a blue tongue and green ears, but in his elfin form hes a little boy w cat ears and a tail, due to his lack of prowess w shapeshifting he cant get rid of his ears and tail yet, a feat he will learn w age) some elfin however either dont have the ability to shapeshift into a human form or just choose not to, as a low majority of elfin have disdain for humans

throughout history, humans understanding of elfin shift among time periods. in the early days of man, when all humans saw were spirits with incredible otherworldly power and strength, they revered elfin as gods or demons. in loh lore however, there are no such things as actual gods/demons/etc, all known gods are actually just extremely affluential elfin..ie nezha and sun wukong are canon within loh but are not gods, just very well documented elfin lol… ‘god’ is essentially a just title elfin can obtain once theyve reached a certain legendary notoriety status within human society in lohverse

EDIT: heres an official comic about modern humans views on elfin for visual context

another suuuuper important feature in loh is the ability of elemental manipulation and realms. all living beings are born w an innate elemental spiritual type that, with conscience effort, can be honed in on and trained to be made more powerful..humans even have this ability but are mostly unaware. there are several spiritual types but off the top of my head the ones i can remember are metal, ice, water, fire, wood, and space.. all beings are usually born with one spiritual type which is their base type and the strongest they will ever have, but they can also learn other spiritual types..sometimes though, some beings are born with two innate spiritual types, an example being xiao hei who was born w a metal and space spiritual type

space spiritual types are the more rarer spiritual types that exist and unlike other spiritual types, where if u lose ur spiritual cultivation u can eventually cultivate it back, space is connected directly to ur realm so if you lost the cultivation of ur space type then you would die.. realms are literally personal physical realms that are connected directly to your soul and spiritual energy that each being has and it grows depending on the strength of ur spiritual cultivation, it pretty much is a white void that u can store physical objects in. other people can come into ur realm but as you are the master of ur own realm, any foreign person entering it can be subject to ur control (u can teleport, physically control others, etc etc in ur realm..u are essentially god within ur realm)

OKKKK I THINK THATS EVERYTHING NOW I CAN FINALLY GET INTO THE ROTMHS PORTION OF THIS (GLASS SHATTERING SOUND) this is already so long and i feel like its gonna get longer so im just gonna put this jnder a cut teehee⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

SOOOO LALALALAAA in my rotmhs loh au, everything in rotmhs verse is essentially the same as rotmhs canon aka canon divergence except now it has all of the same spirituality and elfin existence in it that loh does.. all the great sects and families are the same, all the villains and deuteragonists are the same, the only thing that is majorly different is that chung myung is an elfin (grins)

unlike in rotmhs canon where baby chung myung was abandoned on the front gates of mt hua, in this au he is an elfin who was formed among the plum blossom trees of mount hua..his formation was probably witnessed by the sect members of mt hua so he was swiftly taken in by them

in loh, when an elfin is formed, they are always surrounded by other elfin and spiritual animals to welcome them into the world and to give them a community, however since chung myungs formation was so close to a human settlement and witnessed by so many other humans, and maybe only a few other spiritual animals but no elfin, his role in life was pretty much decided for him

EDIT: heres an official comic of an elfin being born btw just for a little extra visual context hehe

chung myung was formed as a baby tiger elfin, who later in life can transform back and forth between a human form and a big ass melanistic tiger form, and due to the humans in this time periods lack of understanding of elfin, he was quickly decided to be mount huas own guardian 'god'.. pretty much i imagine he was raised the same way though bc no matter how much mt hua tried to lavish and spoil their own little ‘god’, chung myung is still chung myung so they got over their reverence of him pretty fast and started treating him like their littlest sect brother instead teehee (and chung myung wldntve had it any other way, i feel like if they kept spoiling him nonstop he wldve gotten annoyed by it pretty fast)

chung myungs elemental spiritual ability in this au ive decided is gonna be wood since he was formed among the plum blossom trees..i think itd be really funny to see a young chung myung growing a plum blossom tree in the middle of mt huas courtyard much to the faint inducing astonishment of the sect members hehe.... he also has a metal subtype cuz hes trained so much around swords he just inevitably cultivated the ability

all elfin are born w the inherent knowledge of their being, but since chung myung was pretty much born and raised among humans, his etiquette and sociability amongst other elfins is lost.. he wears his elfin features amongst humans with pride (his tiger ears and tail, hes able to shapeshift them away, he just chooses not to) and among mortals and even other members of the jianghu, he is still seen as an untouchable god to be respected and worshiped, or sometimes even as a demon by those who despised him…..i dont imagine this really gets to him or changes his personality in any meaningful way, hes still the same chung myung we all know and love….🩷

i didnt actually think about tang bo at all in this au but just to squeak him in at the last second, ive decided while he is still an immortal human, i will give him a refined metal manipulation ability.. i imagine what w the tang family being talented welders, their mastery over metal manipulation is incredible, however lacking….. when tang bo meets chung myung for the first time his metal manipulation is underdeveloped but after intentional training and sparring w chung myung for years and years, it develops into near perfect mastery yayy

mostly in this au i just like imagining chung myung in his big tiger form walking around tha sect, lazing around and sleeping in sunny patches or hanging out w chung mun or gnawing on chung jins arm LOL “god” or not, chung myung is still their annoying ass brother hehehehe

smth ive also thot about is that, in loh lore, when an elfin ‘dies’ they dont so much as DIE die, but the natural energy that formed them disperses back into nature, which makes me think that w enough intentional cultivation its not impossible to reform urself after a few decades or even centuries....so i imagine during the final battle when chung myung dies facing cheonma, cm doesnt really die die hes just dispersed and it takes him a hundred years to reform himself, though hes weak and reforms back into his originals selfs fifteen year old body..

eek ok thats kinda all i have to say about this au rn my thumbs hurt from typing sooooo bad watch lxh and loh byeeee

EDIT: nvm im back i have more i want to say..

in this au, chung myung being a minor 'god' was well known and well documented so even after the war and destruction of the sect, the jianghu and every mount hua generation afterwards knew that chung myung was smth otherworldly so the legend of the plum blossom sword saint lingered heavily on mount hua, even more so than in rotmhs canon because after chung myung died, theres never been another case of an elfin knowingly making such direct contact with humans since.. ofc theres been elfin hiding and living amongst humans in stealth but none have ever given themselves away or flaunted their abilities like chung myung had, so their existence, to humans, is still incredibly rare and unknowable..

i imagine when chung myung came back he would still hide his identity, as well as his tiger ears and tail, just like in canon because i feel like the uproar of mount huas guardian god returning would be even louder and put too much attention on the vulnerable rebuilding sect.. however since chung myung reformed weaker than he used to be, his grasp on shapeshifting is still a little wonky so sometimes he'll randomly accidentally have his ears or tail poof into existence lol.. luckily no one has seen it happen tho or else his identity would be revealed

[zhongwans]

hi, this is very random, but have you heard of the drama stay with me? i am so confused how this passed censorship, did the rules change?

I don't think so. Stay With Me is operating on grey area rn because despite the show being a Chinese production with Chinese actors, it's actually not officially available in China. You can only stream it on overseas platforms.

The show is Youku's but apparently you can't even stream it on the international Youku app. The international app is different from the one that can be accessed in China and often have different contents. Eg. the international IQIYI and Tencent apps have BL in them (as in, straight up BL. Like Kinnporsche levels of BL) but the versions of the apps that are accessible within China don't have these. So if Youku isn't even putting the show on the international app and chose to pawn it off to Viki and Gagaoolala instead, then we can assume that they felt it was not totally safe.

I'm not sure if this is an actual rule but it's always been widely understood that if a show does not get approved in China, then it does not air at all. Even in overseas platforms. That's why it's moot for people to beg for HYX or SPL to be bought by Netflix or Viki or whatever, because the production would probably not want to risk getting into trouble for flouting censorship laws like that. So I'm not sure what the situation with Stay With Me is but it probably helps that it's a smaller production with newbie actors. And I haven't watched the show yet but I doubt they'll go too far with it in terms of explicitness because I remember a while back there was a mini webseries (by Bilibili I think) that had a kiss scene between two male characters. The kiss scene was only included in the international version but it got quite a lot of attention within China that it was eventually excised from the international version too.

Censorship in China is an ever shifting landscape. You just never fucking know tbh. Just remember the golden rule: the more visible to the mainstream something is, the stricter censorship will be. That's why you can get away with certain things in audio dramas and webnovels that you can't in live action dramas. And that's why smaller dramas can get away with certain things that S+ class dramas with big names can't. But in general, I doubt that policies regarding BL will get better anytime soon, especially if even animated danmei adaptations are being kept from airing and stricter policies are being enforced on BL audio dramas and manhuas.

[listanon]

Completed GL

21 Days Closer Steps - collab with jpc's pair. on h'our youtube channel, 8 part miniseries

23.5 (milklove) - high school puppy love, on gmmtv's youtube 

Affair (lmsy) -  on change2561 youtube

Among the Cloud - on h'our channel on youtube

Apple/Apple My Love (ormfolk) - 6 episodes. uncut on youtube, wetv and gagaoolala

As You Wish Love - from company who did lucky my love made a new GL and on youtube

+Ayaka is in love with Hiroko - japanese GL on gagaoolala

Black and Milk - miniseries on youtube

Blank (fayeyoko) - age gap GL, on ninestar studio youtube

+Chaser Game W - japanese GL, exes back to lovers, on gagaoolala. 2 seasons

Deep Night: The Two of Us (tanyaning) - older GL couple. 2 seasons. on youtube 

Delete Your Past (meenbabe) - short film/miniseries on youtube 

Design You Beside Me - h'our youtube channel, 6 part miniseries

Dream GL (faymay) - also goes by "my marvellous dream is you" fantasy GL, on idf's youtube

Find love in her mind - miniseries on h'our channel on youtube

Friend with Benefit - miniseries on youtube 

Gap (freenbecky) - on idf's youtube

Ghost Friend Forever - miniseries on h'our channel on youtube

+Jeongnyeon - women centric historical kdrama on TVN, disney+ or hulu depending your country. wlw subtext

+Kimi no Tsugu Kaori wa - also called fragrance you inherit, a japanese GL

Little Cupid - on h'our channel on youtube

Love Bully (englot) - 4 episode mini series in "Club Friday". on change2561's youtube

Love Senior - one season and 5 special episodes on star hunter's youtube

Loyal Pin (freenbecky) - historical, on idf's youtube

Lucky My Love (near bmine) - on youtube

Making Memorable Memories - on h'our youtube channel

Malee [มาลี] - horror movie, about a dancer wearing a crown that brings a curse.

My Ex's Wedding (lux sulax) - movie

+My Hot Butch Roommate - mini webseries drama, chinese GL

My Wednesday - collab between h'our and jpc series channel on jpc series youtube. nune-vicky (jpc) and fering-great (h'our). 4 episode mini series

Pluto (namtanfilm) - on gmmtv's youtube

+Request to Resign - korean GL based on the manhwa. Also called “tendering resignation”

Reverse 4 You - scifi/fantasy. soulmates and time reversal powers to go against a tragic fate. available globally on netflix 

+She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat - also shorted to "tsukutabe" in japanese. japanese GL. two neighbors bond over their love of cooking/eating. wholesome slice of life story. 2 seasons. based on the manga of the same name.

+She Makes My Heart Flutter - korean GL web series on soo not sue's youtube

The Secret of Us (lingorm) - exes, doctor x actress. on ch3's youtube channel 3Plus/their own app

The Secret of Work (prigkhing kate) - ch3 short office drama. on ch3 and their app

Unlock your Love (near bmine) - on k11 d house on youtube. uncut on gagaoolala

Uranus2324 (freenbecky) - movie, one is an astronaut who gets lost in space and the other is a diver? multiverse. 

Whisper Me a Love Song - japanese anime

* “Love Sea”, “Sunset x Vibes” side couples

[kc-drama-fanatic]

Miss Mystery (2023)

Genre: Drama, Historical, Romance

Main Actors: Leo Yang, Chen Shu Jun, Wu Qian Xin, Wang Cheng, Austin Sui, Tian Kai

Plot: Lin Bao'er is a Southeast Asian shipping heiress who sets up shop in the coastal town of Lianhe, running into Zhu Guanwen, heir to the richest family in town, on the eve of his wedding to the mayor's daughter. Sparks fly immediately as the two are matched in intelligence, plotting, and care for each other. Given past events in their lives, the two join together to take down their enemies. (8.4/10)

Relationship: The past few webseries I watched were so mediocre I didn't even review them; however, this one had a decent relationship between the main leads. Despite being protective of the FL in his care for her, the ML does not baby, overprotect, or underestimate her and instead simply offers his help so he's always by her side and supports her rights (and wrongs). Morally grey power couple for the win! Do they have their issues? Absolutely. Does the couple that slays together stay together? 100%. (8.1/10)

Characters: I enjoyed the leads' portrayals of their characters. I felt that the main female antagonist was a little underutilized, but I found the main male villain interesting enough, though I have some doubts about the ending of his villainy re: still lying about past circumstances? (8.2/10)

Favourite Quote/Scene: -

Final Thoughts: First thoughts: this drama used the exact same set as Leo's previously-seen/later filmed Chinese Republican Era webseries Her Disguise. This was a decently done drama for only being 24 ~10-minute episodes. I liked the strong FL and thought the leads' relationship was pretty well done. An interesting plot and satisfying ending made me give this a (8.5/10)

[auradoniandreams]

What are your honest thoughts on Lonnie and her family in Descendants?

Personally, I've always liked Lonnie, but I have to admit that at this point in time I feel like I'm more attached to the fanon version of her (who has actual motivations and a backstory), than the canon version whose personality changes every 5 seconds. I feel like she had real potential as an AK who likes the VK's, and who's also not afraid to challenge Auradon's status quo, but something got lost along the way.

I don't really have any thoughts about her family, tho (outside of the og Mulan movie, anyway - but we're talking Descendants now). They're barely mentioned, and when they are, we're reminded that Disney doesn't know what to do with ethnic characters (*cough* Lil' Shang *cough*). I'm not Asian/Chinese myself, so I can't rly speak on the representation aspect (if you're Asian, and would like to, feel free to share your opinion in the replies/reblogs! I'd love to hear them), but it's obvious that Lonnie is not a Chinese name, and from what I understand, naming a kid after their parents is a big no-no in Chinese culture.

So...yeah. I have a lot of thoughts on her characterization tho, so if you wanna hear me ramble about her character arc, click on the read more link.

Before D1: The first time we see her, in the School of Secrets webseries that was released before D1 as promo, she's spying on the other AK's, trying to expose the shady things that happen behind closed doors, and to challenge the idea that the upcoming arrival of the VK's signals an imminent doom for Auradonian society. Granted, they never confirmed the fact that it was her behind the shorts, but she was voiced by the same actress that played her in the movies and if I remember correctly she also had the same bracelets.

Based on this appearance, she sounds like an incredibly interesting character, as the only other AK besides Ben and Doug who wants to give the VK's a chance. Additionally, she's standing up for what she believes in like her mother did, without turning into a carbon copy of Mulan.

D1: Her attitude towards the VK's is kind of confusing; one minute, she's asking the girls for a haircut and showing the c4 sympathy for their shitty childhoods, having little to no problem with them. The next, she's screaming and running along with Audrey and her princesses. Peer pressure? Personality shift? Fear of Mal's dark magic? Go figure.

D2: She sneaks out to the Isle of the Lost, helps the c4 fight Uma's crew, and she uses a loophole to enter the R.O.A.R. team as its first female captain. I loved seeing them develop her character more and give her a plotline, but I also kind of wished they hadn't turned her into a full carbon copy of her mother. I think this is when the writers also started getting confused abt her character, because in the first movie she was a lot more girly, and not necessarily athletic. Obviously she can be both at the same time but it felt like a sudden change.

Wicked World: Her personality (??) mostly stays the same, but for reasons that I can't figure out, she forgets she likes fencing, and is suddenly into...music??? She has a side gig as a DJ??? Uhh ok

School of Secrets: Lonnie's Warrior Sword: We're reverting back to her D2 characterization: she's athletic, headstrong, and anxious about her mother's legacy, or whether she can fulfill it. The plot also borrows a lot of elements from the og Mulan movie. It's an enjoyable read, but it's pretty much what you'd expect from a daughter of Mulan, and I wish they'd done more with her.

I liked her relationship with Jay, tho. Their dynamic (esp in the books ) is fun and they make a good team. That was a highlight for sure.

All in all, I like her, but she suffers from the same problem that every side character in this franchise does: inconsistency.

[tellywoodtrash]

hi TT! How are you doing ? I wanted to ask you if you could recommend any good sites to watch k-dramas and hindi serials on ? I am about to finish my exams, and wanted to binge watch in extreme. :)

Kdramas (actually all the dramas like Chinese, Thai, Japanese, etc.): kisskh.co, Dramacool

Hindi: serialwale.com (for ongoing stuff); for dramas that are already over, I usually just watch them on the OTT platform of the channel (hotstar/zee5/whatever), coz links get taken down off of the other sites, and most of these sites have the older shows out for free anyway; you just have to pay for the ongoing stuff/webseries.

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[lunarriviera]

how is 镇魂 losing here? all respect to its opponent but this, the first priest danmei live-action? that revolutionized chinese webseries and paved the way for future dangai? guardian fam you know what to do

QL of All Time - Round 1: Where Your Eyes Linger (2020) vs Guardian (2018)

[twig-tea]

Thanks for tapping me in, @bengiyo! The short answer is no, things are actually getting more strict rather than less; we've seen even already censored shows (by which I mean shows based on gay romance novels but made into bromances) get pulled from airing and shelved over the last year or so (thinking of for example Immortality, Eternal Blessing, Justice in the Dark, and The Spirealm). However, the important thing to know about China's censorship is that media censorship is primarily handled, to my understanding, via The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television which reviews shows for broadcasting in China itself. As I mentioned in my post about East Palace, West Palace, the Film Law was passed in 1998 to prevent films from being made outside of the main studio system, but that doesn't apply to television and with the internet, cheap webseries are easier to make and harder to control. The focus is always primarily on their own people and wielding the power they have, so Chinese censors will go first after platforms airing in China, such as Douyin, as well as platforms based in China, such as iQIYI. It is much harder to control distribution outside of China, which is how most of the uncensored Chinese content has gotten to us.

We tend to get 1 or 2 uncensored shows per year, for example In Your Heart in 2022 and the 2016 The Fairy Fox series aired for the first time with English subs (to my knowledge) in 2023. As far as I'm aware, in 2024 we've had 3--Meet You At the Blossom which was a Chinese/Taiwanese/Thai joint production (which I'm assuming means most of it was produced outside of China), Gym Affairs which relied on being a very small webseries on YouTube (but despite that, the production company's second miniseries never completed), and the one that inspired this question Blue Canvas of Youthful Days, which originally started airing in August but even though it was only airing outside of China, it was still pulled from iQIYI after episode 4, and it took several months' of effort by the production company to secure distribution outside of China via GagaOOLala, YouTube, and Viki. I have such respect for this company that they put their product on so many platforms at once, to ensure this time it will air in full.

This is of course not going into all of the content we get outside of Mainland China, e.g. from Taiwan and (on a smaller scale) Hong Kong. Unknown, for example, we were able to get because a Taiwanese company adapted what was originally a Chinese danmei.

A slightly long answer to basically say: Nope, things haven't changed, anon! But as with any censorship situation, people who are passionate will find a way. I wanted to write a little more detail to acknowledge how hard people work to get this content made and in front of us, and how much risk they often take.

So I got very interested in Blue Canvas of Youthful Days after seeing your post, but as someone who hasn't watched a lot of shows recently, I was surprised. Is Chinese BL at last getting free from the censorship? I remember the days of Addicted, the initial crackdowns, the censored "bromances", the shows stuck in eternal development hell... it was sad. Has things started changing?

Not exactly? I'll tag @twig-tea in on this one because they keep better track of shows than me these days.

The most interesting thing that we're seeing is Chinese stories being adapted outside of the mainland. We saw Fragrance of the First Flower produced in Taiwan. We saw My Sand In and Battle of the Writers adapted in Thailand.

I'm not sure what's going on with the powers that be in China around this. I genuinely don't know why Blue Canvas made it to us, especially after getting pulled before episode 5. I'm nervous about what the final moments of this show have in store for us if they let it come back to us.

[dorkshadows]

Hey do you have any recs for monkey king media that has good Wukong/Sanzang interactions? I am having difficulties finding them.

TVB's Journey to the West series has excellent interactions. Both seasons (1996 + 1998). The 2002 reboot has some sweet moments too, but it's honestly not a very good show lol and Wukong spends most of his time with straight love interests.

JTTW: The Demons Strike Back (2017) is very SunTang oriented lol! The 2013 prequel doesn't focus as much on them, but should be watched for context.

Depending on your personal feelings, the 1986 JTTW series also has a lot of lovely Wukong/Sanzang interactions. There's also the Monkey King film series- skip the first Donnie Yen movie and watch the White Bone Demon + Womanland with Aaron Kwok. They're not good movies, I'm serious, they're Bad. But they do have a lot of nice Wukong/Sanzang interactions and drama.

[mon--carat]

Still not over it.

[causeofmyeuphoria-ss]

Chinese web series - Le Coup de Foudre 💕

[lynnettedolan]

Sooo, on a lighter note... 🙂

[sashayaweh]

Nirvana In Fire Reactions Part 2

Ep 12.

I know whats goin on but I'm also kind of lost. Its all these damn names and scandals

Edit: MCSu just need to tell the Princess wassup before she find out on her own. A woman know her man.

Edit: What I say 🤷🏾‍♀️

Look at how he holdin her 😩

Edit again

Oh my...goodness 🥵

Edit

Finally 🙄 Got me over here teared up 😟

[just-some-other-reviews]

You know, there’s something that really bothers me when I watch a Chinese BL and that’s the cancellation of the upcoming season. I mean, I can accept the fact that I won’t have a second season of Addicted or Like Love, but this drama was a drama that needed a second season.

YanDaiXie Street No.10 is BL “comedy”. Liang Ze, a successful novelist, and Hang Hang, a pet store owner, are brought together by their love for animals, but especially by Liang Ze incessant questions about his adored chinchillas (that in some translations are called Hamsters... o.o )

As always, I tried to put the less spoilers it was possible in the review, but some might have escaped me, so please stay careful as you read.

I think I should stop going into BL unknowingly. I didn’t bother about reading the summary, but even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have been prepared for this drama. I mean, maybe it was my interpretation of the beginning, but I thought it was really cringy, especially when the whole “gay” topic was brought up. As many BL who involve a man that is said to be heterosexual and one who is homosexual, it relies a lot on misunderstandings. What was probably the best in this drama was that it was short. The progression was fine (like it wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst) and it had really few lengths. The BL was quite fluffy and the issues it treated about were quite realistic. That aside, this web series had a lot of downfall. It revolved a lot around animals, which wasn’t bad, but didn’t seem to really make progress the story. Even though the story is quite short, it contains a tone of drama. Especially the two last episodes… Like, knowing there won’t be a second season, I really didn’t need these two episodes who were filled with drama and indecision. For what it was of the two special episodes of ten minutes, they didn’t add much to the original story. They surely weren’t necessary. At the opposite of the special of Falling in Love With the Rival, it didn’t seem to close the drama. It just left it even more open.

As any web series, you shouldn’t expect much from the characters. The both of them are quite usual and superficial. Liang Ze is the innocent, but odd person, while Hang Hang is a forceful sweetheart that is yearning for love. But they were kind of cute together (during the brief moment they were together, can you hear my sadness), even though Liang Ze was so confused. I’ve seen a few dramas who involved a heterosexual x homosexual couple (Addicted being one of them, as well as Beloved Enemy [in that case, it isn’t a drama, but a book/radio drama] and Make it Right the Series.), but once the heterosexual thinks he’s in love with the homosexual character, he’s in love, not like Liang Ze who doesn’t know. Aside from the leads, there were a lot of annoying and small characters like the editor or the photographer, but I don’t even want to talk about them. I’m fed up.

I’ll conclude there. The plot would be worth a 7/10. The characters a 2/5. The tearjerker factor a 2/5 because I had too much feels involved in Hang Hang and he ends up being badly hurt by Liang Ze.