#it's been so long since i last watched an ongoing taiwanese drama
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attention, love; yan lizheng x zhong shaoxi
#it's been so long since i last watched an ongoing taiwanese drama#and this one looks promising#currently at ep 4 and im lovin it#attention love#ēØęÆļæ½ļæ½ļæ½ę£ęęä½ #prince chiu#wang zi#chiu sheng yi#joanne tseng#ēå#ę¾ä¹å¬#twdrama#yfwugif#myal#also the color grading in twdramas is so pretty
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This Week in BL
March 2021 Part 4
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.Ā
This is a LONG ONE, itās been A WEEK everyone.Ā
Ongoing Series - Thai
Lovely Writer Ep 5 - a little slow this week, but at least Gene finally flirted back, and very cute flirting it was, too. Also we got Aeyās motivation, background, and love interest. Thank goodness for that.Ā
Brothers Ep 8 - still pants, what can I say? Clearly I am a BL masochist. Very embarrassing for everyone concerned.Ā
1000 Stars Ep 9 - the conflict over Tianās father was REALLY well done. The plot of this drama is excellent, the leads are great together, and yes I totally cried. What, you didnāt?Ā
Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Word of Honor (China) Ep 16-18 - big battle fighty fighty stabby stabby. Ep 17 switches to āthis drama isnāt big enough for two chaotic-neutral godlings!ā So what do they do? Drink together and bicker... A LOT. Then in Ep 18 we all get the dubious joy of really freaky puppets. (I HATE puppets.) Also how is China letting this be so SO VERY VERY GAY?Ā Also, I wanna walk through the forest wearing a smanshy purple robe and waving a big fuck-off white fan around simply because Iām a pretentious fuss monger. And frankly, I feel like this is an achievable life goal for me.Ā
We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 4 - not gonna lie, this is looking to be one of my top 3 BLs of 2021. Itās SO GOOD. Big bonus to this ep for treating stalker behavior like the mental illness it is and not as some dumb representation of enduring love.Ā
TheĀ Most Peaceful PlaceĀ is My Place (Vietnam) Ep 1 - finally dropped (find it underĀ NĘ I BĆNH YĆN NHįŗ¤T LĆ Vį» BĆN EMĀ on O2ā²s channel). Itās got actors already comfortable with BL and looks pretty good so far. An angry tsundere uke reunited with his ex, a stoic chef, giving us lots of snap, crackle, and pop out the gate.Ā
Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL)Ā Ep 2 - I want to love it, but it is just moving too fast. Thereās not enough character dev and then theyāre throwing flashbacks in? It feels like a treatment rather than a show, and a rushed treatment at that. Bummer.Ā
HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 2 (AKA Ep 3-4) - let the cheesy popcorn continue! Idiot remains an idiot; ingenue remains an ice queen; nice gay guy remains nice and gay; obsessive stalker brother is getting ever more whackadoddle. Of course these last two have the best chemistry. (Itās caregiver codependency and the salvation trope. We got us a Leo/Fiat situation going on.ā) Plus lots of classic BL tropes because OF COURSE there are lots of tropes.Ā
Occasionally, I am tempted to argue that shows like H4 or Cherry Magic or Ossanās Love arenāt technically BL because of the office setting and age of the protags - but then they all behave like high school students anyway, so *shrug*Ā
Stand Alones
Cute little Taiwanese micro BL Friend or LoverĀ dropped, about bisexual realization within a friendship group. Normally these are too short for me, but this one did pretty good with its 15 minutes of charm, plus itās abad boy + shy softy pairing.Ā
Breaking News - Thai BL
Fish Upon the Sky released its actual trailer. The upside-down kiss is gone, which makes everyone sad, and it seems far less rivals to lovers than the first iteration, which makes ME sad. But it still looks good and a more classic BL than GMMTV has given us in a while. New trailer focused more on the makeover trope and theyāve upped Mixās role (the object of everyoneās affection) now that heās proved himself. (Or they are using him more to carry the trailer since he has a fan base form 1k*). Starts April 9 on GMMTV in 1K*ās time slot, probably with a 10 ep run.Ā
2gether the movieĀ is apparently coming April 22 to Thai theaters. F4 Thailand must be having issues or GMMTV just wants to milk the BrightWin cash cow. Itās rumored to be a combination of 2gehter + Still 2gether with some extra scenes and ending. Also, one assumes a lot will be cut out, if itās movie length.
Call It What You WantĀ released its updated trailer. If anything, it looks more scary than before. What are we in for? April 9th.Ā
NitimanĀ got a release date, May 7 on One31.Ā
I Told Sunset About You 2 got an updated release date of May 27 on LineTV.Ā
Second Chance the series is coming to LineTV on March 29. I donāt know much about this one. Tons of familiar faces (mostly TharnType side dishes) and some nice looking new talent but a dearth of eng subs. I think it may take on Brothersā time slot. Line did eng subs forĀ Brothers so maybe they will do 2nd ChanceĀ too?Ā
Close Friend the series is coming April 22. This is a combination of 6 couples with 6 story arcs as music videos (maybe)? Itās an epic fan service with familiar faces like OhmFluke (UWMA), MaxNat (LBC also in Y-Destiny), YoonLay (YYY also in Y-Destiny), KimCop (GenY), and JaFirst (TT2).
Y-DestinyĀ starts March 30, and has starting dropping coupleās trailers. Iām still suspicious given the director but it seems like there is plot (or plots) and a theme. Looks to be a series of 7 single ep vignettes (amended, see comments, might be 2 eps each for 14 eps total), different couple each time, some with supernatural elements, all with decent chemistry and acting chops.Ā
SunĀ MaxNatās tutor/studentĀ arc
MonĀ jaded rich kid meets poor innocentĀ Ā
Tues sports romance enemies to loversĀ
Weds the messy realistic actual dating oneĀ
Thurs hot ghost boyfriend (sad)Ā
Fri YoonLayPerth coping with loss and finding new love (sad). This one will all rest on Lay's acting so we know itās in safe hands. Our boy is going to KILL it.Ā
Sat time-slip memory loss reunion romanceĀ
Iām thinking we canāt expect any of these to end happy or be classic BL. Theyāre gonna be more slice of life-ish.Ā
Gossip - BL Outside of ThailandĀ
Scholar Ryuās Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryuās Wedding (Korean historical BL) got a legit teaser (eng sub here). @curriculumvtaeā reports that itās releasing April 15th on WeTV (Philippines & Thailand) and Idol Romance (South Korea), while Will of Thai Bl says itāll be on Viki too.Ā Itās a short run of 8 ep built on a fake relationship trope (arranged marriage variant):
Ryu Ho Seonās (Kang In Soo from You Wish) arranged marriage turns out to be with his expected brideās brother, Choi Ki Wan (Lee Se Jin from Mr Heart). Ryu tries to undo the marriage, but his ill mother opposes this saying the scandal would be too much. Meanwhile, Kim Tae Hyeong (Jang Eui Soo from Where Your Eyes Linger), a senior at Ryuās school, comes to congratulate him and falls in love with Choi. Then one day, the original bride disappears.
Okay it seems a bit twisty turny for ONLY 8 EPS, but oh my goodness how excited are we? Our first intentional historical BL out of Korea!
We already knew Hong Kong was doing a remake of Japanās Ossanās Love under the same name (not my favorite Japanese BL but so very popular) but itās now reported to be coming to Viu in June. Who knows how the CFA will take it. Depends on whether Hong Kong bows before the NO GAY KISSES regs or if they are going to use this as a political nose thumb... things could get cray with this puppy (the original has several kisses and s shower scene). Are we back in Addicted territory only with added comedy and civil unrest?
Speaking of Japan, Absolute BL (AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko) dropped sooner than anyone thought, March 27. But being Japanese who knows how/when/if we get subs. Protag finds himself trapped in a world of BL, but being straight he fights against any hot guy that draws near, but the whole world (literally) is conspiring against him. Itās a parody adapted from a yoai.
What with Absolute BL from Japan plus Lovely Writer and Call it What You Want from Thailand, is 2021 the year of BL being ultra self referential? Sure feels like it.
In Case You Missed It
Faded a gayĀ micro film from Taiwan from 2017 deals with parental acceptance and serves up a ton of BL tropes (piggyback, forehead kiss, etc). Iām pretty sure this was a propaganda piece for legalization of gay marriage, and itās an interesting nugget of BL history as a result. Yes, it ends happy. Itās cute.Ā
Next Week Looks Like This:
Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons.
Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.
Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.
Man thereās a lot going on right now! Spring has sprung... I suppose.Ā
P.S. I cannot believe I missed Absolute BL as a blog name. Numbnuts = me.Ā
#asian bl#asianbl#thai bl#thaibl#brothers the series#lovely writer#1000 stars#a tale of thousand stars#We Best Love: Fighting Mr.2nd#taiwanese bl#taiwan drama#history 4: close to you#dear uranus#taiwanese GL#asian gl#second chance the series#2gether the movie#y-destiny#friend or lover#Fish Upon The Sky#Call It What You Want#close friend the series#i told the sunset about you 2#faded short#oassan's love#japanese bl#absolute bl#Nobleman Ryuās Wedding#korean bl#nitiman
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This Week In BL
Feb 2021 Part 1
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.Ā
Ongoing Series ThaiĀ
Manner of Death Ep 11 - a nice beefcake twist, then another twist, plus proud gay dads. We are mighty pleased.Ā
Cupid Coach Ep 4 - Unbearably boring. Iām out. We are not amused.Ā
My Bromance Ep 9 - FINALE I watched it unsubbed (Iāve NOT been following since ep 3) and it looks like it has a nice cute happy ending. Iām now interested in binging it once good subs become available.Ā
1000 Stars Ep 2 - was a lot better than Ep 1, the mains have okay chemistry, the kids are serviceable (child actors, shudder), but Iām really loving all the side characters. We are cautiously optimistic.Ā
Ongoing Series Not ThaiĀ
You Are Ma Boy Ep 5 (Vietnam) - pacing still good, cuties are still giving it their all, solid little series with bumpy side couples, confession call & response continues apace.
To My Star Ep 7-9 FINALE (Korea) - quirky as all goddamn getup, but so fucking cinnamon roll tasty. Charming end. Recommended so long as you realize we are in Mr HeartĀ style K-BL.Ā (Also @coldties posted a killer MV for this one.) This one will get a movie rerelease like Wish You, hopefully also on Netflix.Ā
We Best Love: No. 1 For You Ep 6 FINALE (Taiwan) - we got to see boyfriends being domestic af adorable with an ending that was a touch bittersweet but very college appropriate. With season 2 coming March 5 I am disposed to be VERY PLEASED.Ā
What will we do with ourselves and nothing new out of Korea or Taiwan for two WHOLE weeks?Ā
Stand AloneĀ
I rewatched Wish You (2020 Korean series WISH YOU: Your Melody From My Heart now retitled - thank fuck - and available as a movie on Netflix). I have to say Yoon Sang Yi delivers some excellent pining. Iām not a huge insta-love person and thereās some character dev flaws, but it holds up really well and delivers more as a movie then it did as a series.
One of my favorite catches on the rewatch was the wayĀ Yoon Sang Yiās jacket sleeves are always too long. Itās such a perfect little character trait. He is so shy and careful that he shrugs smaller into his coat, and also he hides his hands - when, as a pianist, his hands represent his self actualization and art. He only exposes them when making music... or holdingĀ Kang In Sooās hand.Ā
Incidentally, I was moved to look these two up... both out of K-pop. (This is my shocked face.)Ā
Breaking NewsĀ
Lovey Writer dropped itsĀ official trailerĀ at last, looking good and trope-filed. Itās set to start Feb 24th.Ā
Top Secret Together dropped its first promo material (Thai, no eng subs). Iām excited about this one, itās being lead out by an IRL couple.Ā
My Engineer 2Ā
The ME boys dropped an adorable gossip heavy promo vid. ME 2 is finishing up the script and will probably begin filming in April. Itās supposed to still release in 2021 (which makes me worry about post and explains a lot about some of Thai BLās audio quality issues). With April filming, my guess is for an October (but more likely November) release.Ā
Close FriendĀ
Lay talked about his Close Friend project, which is a MV series from BOX Music featuring musically-inclined actors with established BL pairings so:
KimCop (MarkKit from Gen Y)
JimmyTommy (SaifahZon from Why R U)
JaFirst (LeoFiat from TharnType 2)
YoonLay (NottPun from YYY)
Y-DestinyĀ
Perth talked about Y-Destiny (previous title Destiny) which presumably is already filmed because he said it will be on air at the beginning of this year. As this is aĀ Cheewin project, expect it to be something odd, campy, and frenetic in the YYY style. My guess is theyāll wait until You Only Eat AloneĀ has completed its run before airing Y-Destiny, because who can take more than oneĀ Cheewin at a time? No one. Not even Thailand.Ā
KinnPorscheĀ
Perth also talked about KinnPorsche.Ā He said it would be on air... but that he wasnāt allowed to say the date, so we can hope this means they finally got distribution. (The excitement over the trailer probably helped - it has over a million views.) He also said they would start filming soon (so Feb/March) which means, if everything goes smoothly, a late summer release at the earliest. However, with an independent studio, high production values, big cast, and fight sequences I would expect KP to have more post than most BLs, so my guess is it will air towards the end of the year. (And I would be scared for quality if they tried for any earlier.)Ā
KinnPorsche cast also continues to work the BL talk show circuit, theyĀ made an appearance on Sosat Seoul Say. Mile & Apo are adorable + good chemistry, in fact the whole cast is adorable with good chemistry, so Iām excited for this series.Ā
GossipĀ
Cutest beans, Sam & Yu of We Best Love,Ā have been droppingĀ the most charming little lives ever. Iām so pleased we are getting a second season out of them. I canāt remember the title because, ya know, Taiwanese titles are beyond bonkers. But season 2 is listed now.Ā
Hong Kong is reported to be filming its first BL Series (15 eps to air on VIUTV). It will be an adaptation of 2018 Japanese BL drama Ossanās LoveĀ (maybe same title?). Like Cherry Magic this is an office romcom: 30s single man who isn't popular with women lives with his parents. When they kick him out, he moves in with a coworker. Turns out this guy has a crush on him, as does another dude from hisĀ office. Foundational tropes: Office romance meets forced proximity meets love triangle.Ā I expect the style out of Hong Kong to be somewhat similar to Taiwan, however they are politically less independent of China Main (although culturally VERY different) so this series could be DOA (for gay) or get killed early in its run (see Addicted web series - or donāt see it, if youāre in China). Also, like the Japanese original (and unlike most Taiwanese stuff), expect VERY low heat. That said, 15 eps is nothing to sneeze at, even if they are only 15-20 min each. So I guess I am... intrigued?Ā
Next Week Looks Like This:Ā
February Update: Others that are airing but Iām not following:Ā
Fools (Vietnamese) - I donāt think itās going to end happily (itās from the Stage of Love peeps), so Iām waiting to binge if it doesĀ
Brothers (Thai) - deals with taboo relationships from the Thank God itās Friday people (this will not end well)Ā
HappenstanceĀ (Pinoy) - I donāt follow Pinoy BL closely
One Day Pag-ibigĀ (Pinoy) - ibidĀ
Love or Lie (Pinoy) - ibidĀ
The Alter (Pinoy) - ibidĀ
Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.Ā
Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.Ā
#thai bl#thaibl#bl 2021#bl gossip#upcoming bl#my engineer 2#kinnporsche#y-destiny#close friend project#ossanās love#hong kong bl#chinese bl#taiwanese bl#VietnameseĀ BL#Vietnamese drama#pinoy bl#pinoy drama#lovely writer#We Best Love: No.1 For You
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