#kieta hatsukoi is one of my first bl(s) and i love it so so much

[aprilblossomgirl]

You’re not gonna be close to him by doing this. You’re right. I know that. But every time I see him, I don’t know how to behave. I get you. When I’m near someone I like, I don’t know how to act either.

My Love Mix-Up! (2024) | Ep. 1

[twig-tea]

A question for you because you seem like one of those people who has watched everything: how did you get started watching bl, and what are your ultimate favorite shows?

Double-barrelled! I'm honoured.

How did I get into BL?

The short answer is that ~2016 the YouTube algorithm served me up Lovesick and I immediately went EXCUSE ME WHAT IS THIS and looked up everything else available and watched literally everything I could get my hands on (which at the time was easy because there was only a handful compared to today, but it still felt like a wealth of content to enjoy).

The longer answer is that I used to be really involved in GL (I was the secretary at the first Yuricon in North America in 2002 or 2003) and then BL manga fandom (was in a scanlation group for awhile) through ~2006? so its extra hilarious that this wasn't my route in; I apparently took a break right before they started making live action versions in Japan. But when I got into Thai BL it was fun rediscovering these tropes in a new medium and through the lens of a new-to-me culture, noticing how they differed and how the genre had matured (and how it hadn't), and on catching up on the stuff out of Japan, seeing some of the manga I read over a decade ago come to life! So I mention this history because it's definitely a part of why I stayed (and probably why the algorithm found me relatively quickly).

I only started tracking things in a spreadsheet in 2020 (and it's not nearly as comprehensive or useful as @absolutebl 's), but I did try to backfill the highlights of what I've seen and I have over 550 rows on there, fwiw. I'm a completionist so I do try to watch everything, though that's getting more and more impossible these days.

Ultimate Favourite Shows

This question is so hard. I know you didn't even give me a limit but you have to understand @lurkingshan, I can't choose favourites, I have a draft top ten list that has been blank for 3 years because I can't commit. Okok. I'm just going to list shows as they come to me (not in any particular order):

Thailand: Until We Meet Again, He's Coming to Me, Diary of Tootsies, WhyRU, Ingredients, Not Me, Secret Crush on You, I Told Sunset About You & I Promised You the Moon, Triage, You're My Sky, Make it Right, La Pluie, My Ride, Bad Buddy, My School President, Laws of Attraction, Moonlight Chicken, Dear Dr I'm Coming for Soul, To Sir With Love/Khun Chai, The Eclipse, Midnight Museum, Lovely Writer... Grey Rainbow [ducks, hides, runs away]

Japan: Doushitemo Furetakunai (no touching at all), Kinou Nani Tabeta (What did you eat yesterday?), Our Dining Table, Takara-Kun and Amagi-Kun, Old Fashioned Cupcake, 7 Days (mon-thurs & fri-sun), His (miniseries & movie), I Want to See Only You, Kieta Hatsukoi/My love mix-up, the Cherry Magic Movie, Life~Senjou no bokura/Love on the Line, 180 Degrees Longitude Passes Through Us, Given (anime is my fave version), Tokyo in April Is..., Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese, Utsukushii Kare/My beautiful man

Korea: Our Dating Sim, Semantic Error, The Lover [BL side], Color Rush, Blueming, Cherry Blossoms After Winter, Love Class 2, Made on the Rooftop, Discipline Z, Light on Me, To My Star (yes both seasons), Strongberry (faves are Long Time No See, Confidential Coffee Break, and A First Love Story), Sing My Crush, Just Friends?

Vietnam: Goodbye Mother, Hey! First Love, Nation's Brother, You Are Ma Boy, Follow My Sunshine, FOOLs, Tien Bromance: My Small Family, Love Bill

Philippines: Gameboys, Gaya sa Pelikula, Boys Lockdown, Cheat [warning: horror], Your Home, Better Days

Taiwan: Be Loved in House, My DNA Says Love You, We Best Love (1 & 2), HIStory (Crossing the Line is my fave, and second fave is...Make Our Days Count [ducks, hides, burrows into ground]).

Other: Summerdaze (short from Singapore), Stay Still (Hong Kong), HeHe and He (Hong Kong, final season in progress but s1&2 are so funny) and the bromances/difficult to categorize: Scumbag System, Word of Honor, The Untamed, Guardian, Coffee Prince, Bromance (Taiwanese), Great Men Academy, Mr Queen, Sleuth of Ming Dynasty, SCI Mystery

*deep breath* ok I'm stopping lol narrowing it down any less than this gives me pain so I won't try. Also I'm sure I forgot something obvious (and Tumblr was eating drafts of this at various points). All I can say about this list is it's under 100 and that's the best I could do.

Thanks for the ask, and to anyone who made it this far thanks for reading!

[gabrielokun]

Hi. You watch a lot of dramas/series. Do you have any favorites? If you do, what's your top 20 favorite Asian BL dramas/series?

Hi, anon)) thank you for asking. Sorry, it took a while) but I have to prepare a visual representation to compensate for the lack of writing skills))) english is hard T_T

anyway, here are some of my favorite things

Love by Chance (2018)

The show that started it all (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡ Yep, my first Bl therefore I just must include it. Is is a good show? - not really. BUT! AePete are my babies, I love them. Nobody does it like them ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

2. My Only 12% (2022)

Childhood friends to lovers done right! My favorite show of the last year. It is a slooooow burn but it's so worth it! Very lively and real boys. great family and friend dynamics, kind of meh last story outside of CakeEwi but still…If you want some great friendship slowly blooming into romance this is the show

3. Kieta Hatsukoi (2021)

Super cute show. All characters are amazing, story well written, minimum hurt all the comfort. Good girl-not an enemy (im really easy too please ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀) xd)

4. 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii (2020)aka Cherry magic

JapBL are totally for me when they do fluff, (cause their angst is on a such level I need a lifetime to process it xd)

but this one is so fluffy (ฅ́ ˘ฅ̀)♡ They make me happy and I grateful for it

5. My Ride (2022)

Speaking of fluff °ʚ(´꒳`)ɞ° Other couples are kind of boring But! Mork's uncles, MorkTawan's adopted son (still a bit salty we didnt see him again, Tawan should've had more parenting time, he is clearly a great dad ଘ(੭◌ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚) natural growth of their friendship into love *_*. This one is good!

6.Color Rush (2020)

I love soulmates. Its short, simple story but with very interesting and original idea.

7. Hello Stranger (2020)

Such a simple story but the way it was done is amazing! Falling in love through web camera (੭ ˊ^ˋ)੭ ♡ Characters have such an incredible chemistry even tho they have minimum personal contact(kudos to actors they done well)))

I Will Knock You (2022)

Okay, yes age gap not for everyone. But again it was done very respectful. ૮₍ ´ ꒳ `₎ა I love love love Noey's ˖°.✧aesthetic✧˖°., his room is my fave ngl, i want everything he has))))I love this delusional king He was so sure Thi is into him from the second they met and i live for it.

9. Until We Meet Again (2019)

I love soulmates 2. I just love this show. Its gonna traumatize you and then comforts you with cutest fluffiest boys that going through it

10. Vice Versa (2022)

I didn't like it at first

Puen annoyed me too much ૮꒰˶> ༝ <˶ ꒱ა but then I binge rewatch it in one weekend and I just fall for it. Its so good))) I love soulmates 3 and it's super pretty. I love colors

11. About Youth (2022)

Show where I love main and second couple the same ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡ thats rare))) Again very simple story but told beautifly

12. HIStory2 Right or Wrong (2018)

Let's talk HIStory. They kind of getting worse imho. 4 and 5 were just fine. thats sucks ʚ₍ᐢ ›̥̥̥ ༝ ‹̥̥̥ ᐢ₎ɞ i still love them tho

HIStory2 Right or Wrong (2018) 13. HIStory3 Trapped (2019) and 14. HIStory2 Crossing the Line (2018)

are superior for me. but just watch any of them they all are worth your time

15. Our Dating Sim (2023)

Second chance romance done very very right!

16. Oxygen (2020)

Good fluffy fluff. P'Phu and his bunny are so precious. Main are cute and sweet and adorable. Ignore weird girl and doctor everything else is just so lovely

17. Light on Me (2021)

Love triangle done right. Good light fluffy show that did hurt so good (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

18. To My Star Season 2: Our Untold Stories (2022)

I love how they told this story

19. Not Me (2021)

its hard to explain how good this show is, its more serious than usual bls, great acting, amazing story, strong message told through not just cinematography but art and dance too. its truly great show

20. Triage (2022)

Time loops are fun

+ some honorable mentions

Ingredients (2020)

not a show))) just an add but damn. It such a feel good little comfort add Jeff and Gameplay have an amazing chemistry, simple slice of life stories but so good , mutual pining done so well

anything by strongberry, literally just go at their YT chanel and enjoy ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ ੈ♡‧₊˚

emmmm that a long post sorry

[projectjasper]

time for me to gather all my thoughts together!

out of the 15 announced series, i am - to various degrees - interested in 10, which is a pretty solid amount!

i will definitely be watching:

we are! it's yet another uni drama, but you know what? i don't give a shit. i like me a uni drama. pondphuwin are definitely the mains, with satangwinny either being a secondary couple or also mains - it is not entirely clear from the trailer. my vote is always for marcpawin, who are playing a background couple here along with aouboom. so a very solid cast for me. incredible news.

my love mix-up! i adore kieta hatsukoi, i adore fourth, i adore gemini. feels like a recipe for success to me.

wandee goodday! a bl about actual fucking adults? wow. sign me up right away please. i am not familiar with the main actors, but thor is a part of a secondary couple, and podd is also there, so that's great.

my golden blood! GAWIN as a main character? gawin with JOSS? joss is a VAMPIRE? i want it NOW. like TODAY. exciting af!

pluto! seems like a very dramatic gl with many twists and turns, i am also very excited.

the other five series i am unsure of, for different reasons:

ossan's love th. it's actually likely i will end up watching it, but i (shock horror) haven't actually seen ossan's love, and i feel like i can't say that i will or will not be watching it with as much certainty as those who have seen the original. i will definitely get to it at some point soon though. if i like the original, i'll watch the thai version too.

the trainee. at the moment, i don't feel necessarily excited for this series, so whether i watch it or not will depend on either me having enough free time when it will be coming out to just kind of casually enjoy it, or people really raving about it while it's already coming out and me deciding to spend time on it because of that.

kidnap. pretty much the same exact situation as the trainee. did not grip my attention that much, but we will see if that changes. there is, of course, also the chance that the real trailers for either of the two will change my mind. mock trailers can be a bit clumsy sometimes.

only boo. it did not particularly intrigue me and - unlike the trainee and kidnap - the leads cannot recommend me the series just by virtue of being themselves, because i don't know them. so i am even less inclined than i am with the trainee, knowing how great offgun's chemistry is, and kidnap, because... well, ohm. if something convinces me to watch this - i will. otherwise, it's a pass.

high school frenemy. is it deep platonic love or do they want to stick their tongues down each other's throats? the second i know for sure, the decision will be made. in which direction, i'm sure you can imagine.

some random thoughts:

leads of the series that are coming out right now are clearly taking a little break after this (some of them do have prior comittments for series that haven't come out yet, but from what i remember - it is all secondary/background roles). this makes sense, especially because this is just part 1 of the announcement. so, i'm waiting for whatever news we will get from neo, mark, first, khaotung, force, book, perth, and chimon later.

considering the previous point, i can only Really be mad about the noticeable lack of fluke pusit. my man is clearly in the basement. oh, and aj and jj, who are only playing a background role in one of the series. there is actually a fucking series, where the characters are twins, and they cast ONE GUY to play BOTH, when they have literal fucking twins in their casting pool. wild.

my one real complaint is that i'm getting marcpawin crumbs once again. and i don't mean to anger the gods, because crumbs are better than nothing, but when am i going to fucking get the full loaf of bread? i deserve it. they deserve it. p l e a s e. generally, they seem to still be reluctant about giving current secondary couples the main stage, because satangwinny are either mains along with pondphuwin, or potentially even secondary to them in the drama. let them shine on their own please :(

[absolutebl]

Do you have any recs for somewhat situational romcom-style stuff where at least half of the main pairing is kind of stupid but in an endearing way, rather than a wildly cringy one?

For example, I loved Kieta Hatsukoi and Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai, but I bounced off of My School President and Secret Crush On You and some others due to finding the protag(s) a little too embarrassing. I generally tend towards Korean and Japanese BLs because I prefer my tv shows short in total length, but I'd be happy watching more Thai ones if I can just find ones that suit me.

This is one of those instances where I am not sure i can help bc we may feel differently about this king of BL. I found Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai nearly unbearable but adored My School President. Like you I bounced VERY hard off of SCOY and I love Kieta Hatsukoi.

I think you might like the "Baby is a chaos muffin" archetype so here's a list of those:

Somewhat situational romcom-style stuff where at least half of the main pairing is kind of stupid but in an endearing way

I can pull things that may fit your criteria from Japan & Korea and some of these I promise you won't have seen.

I bolded the ones I really liked, but ignore at will since we may hive different taste.

From Japan

Cherry Magic AKA 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii AKA Cheri Maho

Takara & Amagi AKA Takara-kun to Amagi-kun

Kabe Koji AKA Kabesaa Doujin Sakka no Neko Yashiki-kun wa Shounin Yokkyuu wo Kojirasete iru

Ossan's Love

From Korea

(generally they are more subtle about this style)

All the Liquors

Behind Cut

Choco Milk Shake

Ocean Likes Me

Oh! Boarding House

Roommates of Poongduck 304 AKA Circumstances of Pungdeok Villa Room 304

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding

First Love Again

Individual Circumstances

Mr. Heart

Oh My Assistant

The Lover (BL Cut)

And in case you're feeling frisky & experimental

My Esports Genius Brother - China, Gaga

River Knows Fish Heart - China, Gaga (bit harsh)

Ossan's Love: Love or Dead - Hong Kong

[vampirehollie]

So uhm I really hope you don't mind me asking but I was wondering if maybe there's BL(s) you could recommend? So far I've watched very few and I'd love to discover more like Bad Buddy, with fleshed out characters and cute shenanigans and amazing chemistry. Do you know any like that? <': (oh and just for the record I'm already watching Vice Versa heheheh)

hi ! i don’t mind at all, i definitely would want to find more shows that make me feel like bad buddy too 💗 i had several shows that came to mind with what you’re looking for, but they all don’t necessarily fit  within all three categories at once so i hope that’s ok ! these are my personal recommendations and what i think could fit into some of the categories. going to provide a link to each show’s mydramalist page because i’m terrible at providing coherent summaries.

for more fleshed out characters and chemistry focused shows i personally like:

A Tale of Thousand Stars (also directed/written by P’Aof who directed Bad Buddy as well as other good works. this was one of the first bls i really fell in love with because of the emotional story, the fleshed out characters, chemistry and love, the growth and journey of the main character, and the journey of finding love, home, and belonging in people) 

I Told Sunset About You (a coming of age story with beautiful scenes and great characters) 

for shows that have more cute shenanigans:

Light On Me (an easy watch about first love and friendships in high school) 

Kieta Hatsukoi (also set in high school, a funny and fluffy show about discovering feelings/sexuality through crushes, and it has such amazing and sweet characters and friendships. note: i haven’t fully finished this show yet but i still would recommend it because i enjoyed what i’ve watched overall) 

for shows with fleshed out characters and chemistry that have more cute shenanigans, but the protagonists are adults:

To My Star (an actor and a chef with very different personalities have to become roommates [oh my god they were roommates] and the characters and their relationship are just so lovely. note: for the specific things you’re looking for in a bl, i recommend s1 of this show but i have yet to watch s2 but i know the second season is more emotional angst driven and does not focus so much on cute shenanigans but i’m still excited to watch it) 

Cherry Magic (i think this show encompasses all three categories very well, especially cute shenanigans. it has really amazing main characters and side characters with a care about friendships as well. it is an office romance with a supernatural element of the main character being able to hear the thoughts of people through touch) 

and those are some of my personal recommendations ! if you watch any of them i hope you like them and i hope some fit into what you are looking for. my messages are open if you want to talk more about any of them or other recs 💗

[jaehwany]

thanks for tagging me in this bl tag game @praninlove 🥺️💞

1. your all time favorite bl and why

i told sunset about you. idk what to say that hasn't already been said by quan 😆

it's just.. incredible in every single way. so, so much love and care poured into every aspect of this show. how everything came together perfectly from writing, acting, directing, music, editing, etc., you can just tell everybody put a piece of their heart and soul into this to create something so magical and lasting ✨✨✨✨✨

2. that one bl that scarred you for life

yeah........ definitely ipytm 😣 @mmesutozill and i still talk about it till this day. expectations were high going in but there's just soooo much wasted potential and unexplored storylines that would have made so much more sense than what they eventually went with

3. is there any bl that made you feel very single?

probably deanpharm in uwma and patpran in bb. domestic fluff done well always makes me feel extremely single 😭😭😭

4. if you could change one thing from a bl, which one would it be?

so many ways i would rewrite ipytm but the main thing i would do is make ipytm oh-aew focused and also spend longer exploring his switch from acting to marketing.. it's such a key part of his identity and i feel like it was wrapped up so quickly within an ep. oh, also that modc ending ofc!! 💀

6. your top five:

- itsay 11/10 - cherry magic 10/10 - light on me 9.5/10 - kieta hatsukoi 9.5/10 - gsp 9/10

(thai bls rarely do it for me but the way not me is going, it's very likely to crack my top 5 🤪)

7. that trashy bl that you lowkey like

probably why r u lol (even tho i skipped the angsty breakup ep sry not sry) it was a mess but it was OUR mess 😌

8. your favorite korean bl (it’s important we know)

light on me ✨ the serotonin boost that show (and shinwoo) gave me every single week 🥺 (yooseok's gonna be in an upcoming netflix series called black knight with kim woobin and e-som so i'm excited!!!)

9. but also your top 3 for kbls

1. light on me 2. where your eyes linger 3. to my star

10. season 2? which one?

gsp :(((((((

11. a bunch of dramas will air soon. which ones are you the most excited for?

never let me go - p'jojo's first bl!! the mock trailer was my fave out of all the ones they showed at gmmtv22, and i'm excited to see what pond phuwin can do when the material they're working with is better

kinnporsche - everything i’ve seen so far i loooooove and is right up my alley so expectations are sky high and i know apo and mile will deliver (but also kinda nervous bc of the HUGE cast idk how they’re gonna squeeze 1273294389 storylines into the show)

the eclipse - i wasn't a big fan of the trailer at first bc the directing just seemed a lil messy but after watching not me and 55:15, it makes me excited to see khaotung and first paired up as leads. and khaotung in a completely diff type of role from the sweet boy roles we're used to. i can't wait!! also they've been friends for quite awhile too so i think the chemistry's gonna be gooood 😍

and a couple of others - moonlight chicken, semantic error, to my star s2, cherry magic movie

12. tag them!

i haven't been on my dash as much so idk who's done it but tagging some of my thai drama moots @junghaesin @nanons @taeminie @pranpats @pran-pat @pranparakul @kaonoppakao @itoldsunset @sunsetandthemoon @liyazaki @atots4ever-nevergonnagiveyouup @dramaism @laowen @surii @starfire-s @mark-kit @ohaewpanwa @shinwoonoh @shinjaeha but pls don’t feel pressured if u don't wanna!! 😘

[almighty-an2]

An’s BL Masterlist

I decided to make my own list of BL cause I got shitty long term memory, and I need help remembering stuff I watched or not yet watch

Everything listed alphabetically

List included both series and stand alone movie

Currently Watching

Nah.

May rewatch some stuff

Interested, But Waiting For The Series To Finished Airings

It’s listed here cause I don’t watch unfinished series (but still want to be able to remember the name)

I have anxiety, and it’s usually triggered by unknown future. In this case, unknown ending. So I usually avoid watching unfinished series. Special episode included. Cause if I watch stuff that would still have special ep in the future, it usually ended up with me not watching the special ep.

Yes I read book from the very last chapter. Also watch series from the very last episode. How it usually goes: First episode (usually only pilot or introduction so I’m fine with it) > Last episode (and if I like how it ends) > Started watching normally.

180degree Longitude Passes Through Us (Th)

Check Out (Th)

Coffee Melody (Th)

Minato’s Laundromat (Jp)

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Jp)

The Eclipse (Th)

Unforgotten Night (Th)

On The Backburner (also known as the series I swear I’m gonna watch, but not really)

Partially watched series are marked with asterisk (*)

What I mean by partial: Watched 1 or 2 episode, usually last or special episode, then leave it be for 10 thousand years

Advance Bravely (Ch)

Bad Buddy (Th)

Dark Blue Kiss (Th)

DNA Says Love You (Tw)

Does the Flower Bloom? (Jp)

First Love Again (Th)

Given (Jp)

I Told Sunset About You (Th)

I Promised You The Moon (Th)

Kieta Hatsukoi (Jp)

La cuisine (Th)

Love Mechanics (Th)

Mr Unlucky Has No Choice But To Kiss (Jp)

Ocean Likes Me (Kr)

Old Fashion Cupcake (Jp)

Ossan’s Love (Hk)

Our Skyy (Th) *

Peach of Time (Kr-Th)

Plus & Minus (Tw)

S.C.I - Special Crime Investigation (Ch) *

Sotus (Th)

Sotus S (Th) *

Spring of Crush (Kr)

Theory of Love (Th) *

Word of Honor (Ch)

Y Destiny (Th) *

You Are Ma Boy (Vn)

Been There, Done That

My current favorite series marked with star (🌟)

Also sorted by country, just because

Some of Japanese BL are dark and R18, so please proceed with caution if you want to watch it (esp some of the earlier one)

Chinese Series are mostly censored BL, and usually adapted from BL novel. So if you want some action, read the novel instead

Thailand Series

2 Gether (S1, S2)

2 Moons (S1, S2)

2 Wish

A Tale of Thousand Star

Bite Me

Close Friend

Cutiepie

Don’t Say No

En of Love: Love Mechanics

Fish Upon The Sky

Gen Y

Golden Blood

Ingredients

KinnPorsche

Kiss Me Again - TayNew side pairing

Love by Chance 🌟

Love by Chance 2: A Chance to Love

Loveless Society

Lovely Writer

Manner of Death

My Engineer

My Gear and Your Gown

My Mate Match

Nitiman

Not Me 🌟

Oxygen

Paint With Love

Physical Therapy

Present Perfect (thai cast with Japanese support, filmed in Japan)

Present Still Perfect (sequel to Present Perfect)

Reminders

Secret Crush on You

Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (S1, S2) - Offgun side pairing

Star in My Mind

Tharn Type (S1, S2, SP)

The Best Story 🌟

The Tuxedo

Tonhon Chonlatee

Top Secret Together

Triage

Until We Meet Again

Why R U?

Japanese Series

Ai no Kotodama

Boys Love (S1, S2)

Cherry Magic! 🌟

Close-Knit

Fujimi Orchestra

His (2019)

Kei x Yaku: Abunai Aibou

Kieta Hatsukoi

My Beautiful Man

No Touching at All

Ossan’s Love (S1, SP, S2)

P****grapher

Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute (2019)

Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute: Ame to Soda Mizu

Senpai This Can’t be Love

Seven Days 🌟

Takumi-Kun (All 5 Series)

The Cornered Mouse Dream Of Cheese

The Man Who Defies the World of BL (1 & 2)

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

Taiwanese Series

Be Loved in House: I Do 🌟

Dark Blue and Moonlight

History: Obsessed

History 2: Crossing The Line

History 2: Right or Wrong

History 3: Make Our Days Count

History 3: Trapped

History 4: Close to You

Innocent

Light

Papa & Daddy

We Best Love (S1, S2, SP) 🌟

Chinese Series

Guardian 🌟

The Ambiguous Focus

The Untamed

Uncontrolled love

Korean Series

Antique Bakery

Blueming 🌟

Cherry Blossom After Winter

Color Rush

Just Friends?

Kissable Lips

Long Time No See 🌟

Method

Mr. Heart

My Sweet Dear

Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding

Oh! Boarding House

Semantic Error 🌟

The Tasty Florida

To My Star (1&2) 🌟

Where Your Eyes Linger 🌟

Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart

You Make Me Dance

Swedish Series

Young Royals 🌟

Vietnam Series

My Lascivious Boss

British Series

Heartstopper 🌟

I want to put my completed list under the the cut, but I don’t know how to do it on my phone. Someone teach me how.

Might left some as I can’t remember shit. Will add more later.

Last update: 07.08.2022

[absolutebl]

Hello! I am looking for a few good bl to binge!

As a gay man myself, I really like it to have truly good chemistry...some bls I watch the chemistry is ZERO and then there is not a good plotline to back it up either.

I like cute stuff...I like dark stuff...

I really liked Cherry Magic, Manner of Death, KinnPorsche, Kieta Hatsukoi, Seven Days (my first and favourite bl) , The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese (that one hurt tho).

Any recomendations?

Hello!!! (I feel you on Cornered Mouse) and I am so happy to find another Seven Days stan. 

10 GREAT Chemistry BLs to Binge right NOW!

For the gays who can sniff a fake a mile away. I notice a decided lack of Taiwan on your list. Is that intentional? Do you not like their style? You're probubly right to avoid Korea. Still a few show up on my list but let’s start with... 

JAPAN 

1. Old Fashion Cupcake (2022 - Viki)

It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said boss with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful. Full review.

Seriously GO WATCH IT, thank me later.

2. My Beautiful Man AKA Utsukushii Kare (2021 - GaGa) 

You said you didn't mind a little dark, trust me on this one: the weird obsessive stalker angst will absolutely be resolved in the best way possible. You liked Seven Days so you don’t mind some traditional yaoi nonsense. This BL has the single greatest final episode of any I have seen since... honestly I can't remember when. It's brilliant.

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

This show won the Grand Prix “My Best TV Award” at the 16th Galaxy Awards.

TAIWAN 

Okay so the problem with the Taiwanese stuff, in general, is not chemistry but story. They are all over the place with story. And they can go very very VERY sappy.

3. We Best Love 1 (No. 1 For You) & 2 (Fighting Mr. 2nd) (2021 - WeTV) 

Brilliant acting saved this show from a messy (pretty classically manga) narrative with a lot of angst. You have to buy in to a yaoi aesthetic with this one, accept that things move fast and occasionally confuse, but that everything will be okay. It’s the ultimate pining seme meets the ultimate tsundere uke. WBL successfully manages to combine the best elements of Korean, Thai, and Japanese BL as it exists right now. Couple that to the insane chemistry from the leads, and we have one of the greatest BLs of all time, cooking higher heat to a recipe I doubt anyone else will ever be able to replicate since only Taiwan is this flexible.

Like Seven Days I think the two parts exist together and should be watched as a pair. Unfortunately, to do so legally you need to join WeTV. I am considering doing this just to gank a clean copy of season 2, but... that’s neither here no there. You can watch season 1 for free in most territories, but you’ll need to go grey for 2 and 2 has some of the best acting and best chemistry I have EVER seen in a BL. It’s is brilliant. It’s all the leads though.  SamYu are magic, you can see why the internet lost its collective mind over them. 

4. Be Loved In House: I Do (2021 Viki) 

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns. ALL THE TROPES plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan, who usually prefer to go hard.

5. DNA Says Love You (2022 GaGa) 

An under appreciated gem. It’s a bit challenging to suffer through the paranormal investigators plot line, but at least it HAS a plot? When Amber enters the narrative he is so luminous it’s hard to tear your eyes away and the chemistry is on point with both couples (one LTR, one just starting out). DNA deserves extra marks for an upbeat approach to a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled with sadness (in the guise of realism). There is a twist, which I found predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show. The leads are engaging, and it’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The last few eps really are special and life/love affirming - and the ending is big-grin charming. Full review. 

6. HIStory 2: Crossing the Line (2018 Viki) 

Taiwan’s best example of classic BL with a sports romance foundation using some of the most prototypical (but fortunately least offensive) yaoi tropes. One of my first and still favorites from Taiwan. Kinda like the Seven Days of Taiwanese BL, everything is on point and very yaoi. (You might consider the companion piece too, Right or Wrong. It’s rougher going but very formative for BL + marriage equality.) 

7. HIStory 3: Trapped (2019 Viki) 

If you don’t mind a bit of a shaky ending, everything else about this show is good. It has great plot, fantastic characters, and really excellent chemistry form both couples. Also FINE arse suits. If you liked KinnPorsche and want more Mafia BL with high heat it’s this one, Long Time No See, and Manner of Death. 

Basically this is the definition of enemies to lovers. This is a cop + the mafia man he is chasing but WAIT: they fall in love. Added bonus side couple = assassin and nerd cop ALSO falling in love. It’s great. All the leads are stellar. Its high heat, fun action, and a bit of a mystery drama but pretty about all of it. My only warning is that the main couple doesn’t entirely end up together, it’s implied, but... amorphous ending. 

KOREA 

8. Semantic Error (2022 Viki) 

You might give this one a try. For Korea it’s some of the best chemistry the traditional studios have managed. And it is flawless BL. Truly, perfection for the genre. Korea hit it entirely out of the Parks with Semantic Error by doing a university set BL featuring everything we expect from BL just done exactly right. It has Korea's signature quality executed perfectly, and added bonus good story, great pacing, stunning visuals, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL. Full review. 

9. To My Star (2021 Viki)

It’s is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams. If you can wade through the dead fish kisses there is massive pay out at the end. There is a second season of PAIN, but it has more great chemistry. Up to you if you wanna wade in, but if you don’t mind messy.... (Full review includes my reservations about season 2.) 

10. Some More (2018 GaGa) 

My last pick from Korea, this one is a Strongberry short, and it is SO very gay. About a city boy on a bike tour who gets injured and rescued by a taciturn, but (as it turns out) quite gay, farmer. Age gap, country mouse/city mouse, SO CUTE. Just too short.

Some other ones that are a bit more... complex? 

These will be chewy and more work to watch, like Cornered Mouse.

Long Time No See (2017 Strongberry GaGa)  - One of Strongberry’s few longer pieces and I don’t think this is strictly BL. It’s about assassins on either side of a terf war who fall in love not knowing they are on opposite sides. Or do they? Good fight sequences, mature characters, high heat, very suspenseful, AND an HEA. If you like KinnPorsche you will LOVE this show. 

Blueming (2022 iQIyI) - It’s a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love for BL. I wasn’t into it at first, but the leads are solid and by ep 5 it got really good, becoming a narrative about self discovery meets understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them. Ultimately we witnessed two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection, without that affection becoming the conflict point. Instead, tension was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and self-worth. While production values were a touch lower than usual for Korea, Blueming included decent kisses and other forms of intimacy and a satisfying ending plus there’s judicious and very elegant use of tropes, (which is expected for Korea). 

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count AKA The BL That Shall Not Be Named) (2019 Viki) - Some of the best BL and best chemistry ever put on screen. Up until they move into together. Seriously, the moment they do, stop watching. Save yourself. 

Plus and Minus (2022 Viki) - There is something off bout this show that I can’t put my finger on. I liked it but... the separation is forced and it could have ben a lot shorter. Chemistry is good though. It’s about codependent besties of 20 years finding their way into a romantic relationship. A bit cheesy, with lots of domesticity and occasional dumb drama. (But gay boys and chaos bis? What can ya do?) It’s not groundbreaking but it is a solid sweet unassuming little show of a style that is perhaps a bit more Thai than it is Taiwanese but I’m okay with that. 

His the movie (2020 Viki) - His is about being a grown adult and still struggling with coming out as gay. It addresses the consequences of life choices disingenuous to identity. Nagisa turns up on Shun’s doorstep with his precocious daughter in tow. This is a touch confusing to Shun since they were each others first love. Shun has retreated from society, rejecting the world before it can reject him, already brokenhearted because without Nagisa he never had a reason to fight. Nagisa went the opposite way, tried to pretend to be something he was not and ended up with a daughter he adores and a wife who hates him. This movie is beautiful and the setting is unique and interesting but I'm not wild about the ending. Moody arthouse smackdoodle is going to pretend that "ambiguous" is somehow unique and special rather than bog standard commonplace for narratives of this type. Honestly, I think I mostly liked this because I have a mad crush on Miyazawa Hio (Shun).

The Pornographer series, specifically the first one AKA The Novelist. (2018 Viki maybe) - emotional manipulation, cheating, obsession, seduction, May/December (age gap AKA younger/older), kink, touch of necrophilia, and explicit. It’s your party you cna watch if you wanna. 

Okay, what about Thailand? 

You don’t name many from Thailand (Just KP & MoD) which is the juggernaut  of BL and this is... telling. 

Thailand can excel at chemistry, but since they are pretty married to seme/uke they aren’t very “actually” gay. If you know what I mean? Also there is a common thread, especially with the pulps, where side couples have more and better chemistry than the leads. 

That said here are a few Thai BLs with great lead pairs that you might try... 

Bad Buddy (2022 YouTube) - I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this one. This was GMMTV’s flagship BL and it started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Romeo masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Some of the friendship and family dynamics are overworked, but it has great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. Full review.

Dark Blue Kiss (2019 YouTube) - this one is a buy in to get familiar with the characters (I have a  how to watch guide here). But PeteKao are worth it. They are an LTR, but it’s on point. This is classic Thai BL with a university setting, great acting and complex characters, one of my favorite friendship groups, friends to enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers, multiple angsty af coming outs, including a long stretch of a secret relationship. High production values, good chemistry, BL side couple, not much queer rep, but lots of classic tropes and some great domesticity.

Dear Doctor, I’m Coming For Your Soul (2022 iQIYI) - This is a romance between a doctor trying to save his patients and a reaper who is both his enemy and (eventual) lover. Basically it’s the genius premise of a gay Doom at Your Service. High concept looks good on you, Thailand. It’s lovely to see KarnNat back on screen together and they are still great, and Karn is just painfully beautiful. Full review.  

Love By Chance (2018 YouTube & Viki) - of all the ones I put on this list I dithered over this one the most. The physical chemistry is a little off but the emotional and romantic thread between these two is truly remarkable. And if you think of Ae as Demi, it works. I love these two so much, I might not be sufficiently objective though. (MAME warning) AePete’s meet cute is one of the best ever put on screen. They are just so genuine and soft with each other, it’s hard not to love them from the first moment. Many of the side couples are... difficult, but you can’t fault the leads. They will remain in your heart a really long time. Now there is some abusive ex action, but it’s victoriously dealt with by our tiny crass love muffin hero.

Lovely Writer (2021 YouTube) - Thailand criticizes itself and the BL industry while simultaneously giving us classic seme/uke with great chemistry in a one-two punch of “we love it, but are we supposed to? and must we think this hard, yet enjoy it SO MUCH?“ This show won’t appeal or make sense to those who don’t already have at least some Thai BL watching experience. What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is reexamine Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is critical and self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters.

Not Me (2022 YouTube) - GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring the biggest guns of BL OffGun. THIS IS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience in the BL world - nerve racking but remarkable. But was it ACTUALLY BL? It certainly a lot of BL elements, but in the end that’s not what the show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be as a performance piece. Still an amazing moment in Thai cinema, certainly worth your time. Don’t worry, it all ends happily. Full review. How good is OffGun’s chemistry, really? I have questions. But you still might like it. (OffGun & The Evolution of Chemistry for a BL Pair) 

6 Thai BLs you suffer through ONLY for the chemistry

Seriously not a lot else to recommend these, but they are master classes in pretty boys kissing. Linked to my reviews when possible. These are mostly on YouTube. 

Cutie Pie 

Love Mechanics (either version) 

Love Stage!!! (the THAI VERSION) 

Secret Crush On You 

Why R U? 

TharnType - honestly this is the beginning of it all, so far as chemistry in Thai BL is concerned. If you want to know how KinnPorsche could even exist in this world, blame the success of this BL and MewGulf in particular. 

I’m not putting any VBL on this list because  the stories are just so incomprehensibly bad, but if you want to try one, do Mr Cinderella. 

So far as Pinoy BL is concerned, My Day is AMAZING on chemistry but also bonkers and very difficult to get hold of these days. 

More on this subject: 

11 BLs with the BEST Chemistry - putting aside heat levels, quality of production, and story

Giving Good Kiss in BL - Defining Chemistry 

Queer lens (from the director) and chemistry (from the actors) in BL 

BL Age Dynamics & CHEMISTRY on screen

HIGH HEAT BL 

(source)

[absolutebl]

400 BLs, My 40 Favorite Moments

So the spreadsheet of doom (which I use to track all the BLs I’ve watched or attempted to) just officially tipped into the 400 BLs mark. 

In honor of this momentous event (in my life):

Here are my...  

40 Favorite BL Moments!  

in no particular order, with no rhyme no reason, and I didn’t allow myself to pick all kisses (but I probubly could). 

1. We Best Love’s drunk make out desperation scene in season 2. I know others have issues with the dub-con in this scene, I am not one of those people. I also love their first kiss, the bits with the mother, and the hand in the wrist. But this drunk desperation moment is one of my all time favorite scenes ever filmed. 

2. Gu Hai’s OBEY sweatshirt in Addicted (closely followed by the casual robe- flashing scene, the pull-up scene, and also the kicking mom out of the apartment scene). Look, I love this show, okay? OBEY (I want that shirt SO MUCH.)

3. The hands on the color wheel in Color Rush. THE HANDS, OMG. 

4. Semantic Error, the dart scene. THE DART SCENE. Also the bit where JaeYoung freaks out because he thinks SangWoo is injured when he’s actually the one hurt. Oh and the bit where JaeYoung peeks over the wooden divider, like a cat. Oh and “subscription service.” And “don’t eat lettuce.” And... 

5. Nice Sword in World of Honor. Also the bottle caress and the “I will kill whoever hurt you.” 

6. Until We Meet Again the scene where Dean publicly claims dating Pharm and drives Alec off. (I also like it when he does it with Pharm’s brother over the ipad. And when he owns up to dating a boy to his grandmother. In fact anytime Dean is proud to claim Pharm, I’m happy.) 

7. King handing Ram the flower in My Engineer. 

8. Adachi saves the business deal with Mont Blanc in Cherry Magic. 

9. The confession realization scene in Seven Days. Also when Yuzuru shuts up the hecklers in archery class. 

10. The cameo guest appearance of HaoTing XiGu (from HIStory 3) watching the Northern lights in Life: Love on the Line, alive and well and still together. Ironic that it took Japan to give these characters an HEA. 

11. Ae punching Trump in Love By Chance. Another one where there are a lot of iconic scenes but Ae stoping the punch and then hitting back, just wonderful. 

12. 2 Moons Kit: “I’ll kick your ass.” Ming: “Can you reach, Phi?”

13. The hands on the train in Make it Right. 

14. HaeBom hop-hugging TaeSung in Cherry Blossoms After Winter. 

15. Touch flirting with Daisy in the noodle stall in Secret Crush On You. 

16. ShinWoo’s confession in Light On Me. “I will continue thinking about you.” 

17. Sucking the blood off the finger because he just can’t help himself. HOTEST THING EVER. Utsukushii Kare of course. 

18. Fixing the dangerous edge of the shelf in the kitchen for clumsy seme in My Sweet Dear. 

19. Removing the mask in Gameboys. 

20. Tine and his single celled organisms (friends) drunk in Still 2gether. 

21. Aoki gets inside trash bag in Kieta Hatsukoi, the meme generator to end all meme generators. 

22. Taking care of baby’s knee during volleyball away camp in HIStory 2: Crossing the Line. 

23. Forth & Beam in the pickup truck in 2 Moons 2. 

24. The belt in My Day the series. Oh did you miss that bit? 

25. I didn’t pick many kisses because I pick my favorites every year, but this is a special one for me. The blood spattered post fight kiss in Long Time No See. 

26. The kitchen make out scene in Cutie Pie. 

27. PeteKao and Pete’s dad scenes in general in the Kiss series and Dark Blue Kiss. 

28. The dorm sleep-over puppy pile in Nitiman. 

29. The pride sequence in Not Me. 

30. “I’ll come to you” in To My Star. 

31. "I nearly threw a sauce bottle at your phi’s head” in Tharntype. 

32. Pitch claiming Bank in front of the girls in Golden Blood. 

33. There’s only one bed but they end up sleeping together on the floor together anyway in Be Loved In House: I Do. 

34. Na’s sunglasses in Tonhon Chonlatee. 

35. Arthit’s arm claim with friends at the party in SOTUS. Also the girl with the crush on Kong realizing he’s taken and by whom in SOTUS S (drunk at the beach get away). 

36. Solo’s voice in Oxygen, just yeah, when he lowers it to talk to Gui. 

37. The dance product placement offering scene in Gen Y. 

38. That coming out sequence in the gym in He’s Coming to Me. 

39. “You can kiss me, hyung” in Some More. 

40. The hands letting go in Love Sick. 

Honorable Mention (BL action in “non” BL shows):

“I love you so damn much” in Puppy Honey 2. 

OuWen & Mark’s sex scene in the hotel in Love is Science? 

K.O. in the suit scene in Love 020. 

Advance Bravely playing phone games in bed. 

The bomb flirt in Devil Judge. 

(source) 

[absolutebl]

Hii. Do you have a review of Mr Unlucky so far? I had never heard of the series. One guy really reminds me of Gawin Caskey from the gifs I've seen :) xx

Mr Unlucky is WONDERFUL!!!

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! AKA Mr Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss! (Japan Viki Fri) 

(I have only seen up to Ep 3.)

It is very slapstick Japanese style comedic (light) BL. Only there was an ACTUAL kiss in the first ep, so it seems to be modernized a bit more than usual for Japan. Far be it for me (of all people) to accuse Japan of taking into account the rest of BL trends or international taste but oddly, it feels like they almost did with this show. 

It’s in the Cherry Magic vein with a slight element of magical realism but also reminds me quite a bit of Kieta Hatsukoi (My Love Mix-Up). So if you like that style of BL you’ll adore this show. 

The story so far.... 

Basically Kota, who is chronically (like preternaturally freakishly) unlucky meets Naoya who is systemically lucky at freshman orientation. When they are together their luck balances out and normalizes. 

Kota is so happy about this situation that he can’t help but be sunshine adorable and cheerful and delighted with life whenever they are together. As a result Naoya just falls head over heals in love with him (and also assumes they are dating). But then, of course, Kota feels guilty about leading Naoya on, but also really likes not being unlucky. Meanwhile he also is slowing falling in love with Naoya in return (and resisting, or trying to). 

So Kota is like a mistaken sunshine but secretly tsundere cahracter. It's awesome. 

Also it’s a good set up for conflict. We are only 3 eps in but I think it’s pretty clear where this show is going and how it will resolve, but it is painfully utterly adorable to watch and Japan will defy expectations so I’m still tense about it. 

They recently had the cutest first date in the entire universe, like seriously, what the hell Japan. 

Amusing story: I paused Viki mid episode 3′s date and Viki was like “something missing?” and I yelled at my screen “MY FUCKING HEART YOU BASTARDS” 

You should watch it! Join us! 

[absolutebl]

Can you name a BL starting with every letter of the alphabet? I have watched one starting with every letter but J, Q, V, Y, and X, but I have a Q on my to watch list. I thought you’d enjoy the challenge!

Can I ever... 

Also, since it’s the holidays let’s see if I can mostly find cute broccoli moments to go with. 

Best BL for Each Letter of the Alphabet!

A - A Tale of Thousand Stars

B - Bad Buddy 

C - Color Rush 

D - Dark Blue Kiss

E - En of Love: Love Mechanics (This may be a cheat, does the actual series title start with a “the”?) 

F - Follow My Sunshine 

G - Gameboys 

H - HIStory 2: Crossing the Line 

I - Irresistible Love 

J - Just Friends? 

K - Kieta Hatsukoi 

L - Light On Me 

M - My Day

N - Nobleman Ryu's Wedding

O - Oxygen 

P - Papa & Daddy 

Q - Queer Beauty (Oppressive Love) could go here but that’s NOT A CATEGORY WINNER simply the only one I could think of that starts with Q. 

R - Risutato wa tadaima no ato de 

S - Seven Days

T- To My Star 

U- Until We Meet Again 

V - Vanishing My First Love could go here. After all it’s what I knew for call if for the first 4 episodes, but now I guess not, it’s already claimed the K position. So I have nothing for V. This is a sign we need a BL with a V title. 

Do you think they don’t translate titles into V words because V at the beginning of a word tends to be difficult to say for those not native English speakers? In which case I ordain that this mythical future V??? BL come from the Philippines. 

W - We Best Love

X - I got nothing, there is a Chinese series Me and Mr X but that’s only got one good episode, and it doesn’t start with X. This is an easy one, just name a show after a character with an X name, so Taiwanese probubly. 

Y - You Make Me Dance 

Z - Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko

[aprilblossomgirl]

My Drama Universe 2022 Wrap-up

For someone who’s been fussy about being in a drama-slump this year (well, k-drama slump to be exact), this wrap-up list sure proved otherwise. Not as extensive as what others might have, perhaps, but these are what showed up to me this year that I willingly embraced consumed. Mostly BLs and Thai’s series, not all that I picked were airing this year, some aired year(s) back. Even for the ones airing this year, not all I watched live. So, it will probably cloud my perception of the show, somehow. However, I’m a firm believer of that not every show is for everyone (or, in this case, me), and that sometimes I had better experience of consuming certain shows when I watched it later after its airing period in my own pace.

A bit of story nobody asked. I’ve been watching Asian tv series / movies since the mid-end 90s. Started with mostly J-drama(s) and very occasionally C/Tw-drama(s), and then followed by an intense past decade of mostly K-drama(s). It was only at the beginning of this year that I’ve been exposed to Th-drama(s) and BLs (or QLs in general) and that was partly due to some major changes I had this year (moving back home to a time zone 12-hours ahead after 4-5 years being away in a foreign land + the series of reverse culture shock). Diving into these media has somehow given me a new kind of comfort I didn’t know I needed at the time. A comfort I know I will still be seeking for the next years to come. And since I’ve made this Tumblr page as my safe zone, why not include a yearly recaps/wrap-up list for my own documentation, also as an index to refer to if later I decide to make some Best-of-2022 kind of posts.

Anyway, I don’t do quantified rating here, I’m just giving some little hearts or highly subjective brief commentary shouts, if any. But if anyone would like to talk or share some thoughts about some of these shows with me, feel free to drop by the comment or my dm or ask box :)

Oh, and when I said little hearts, I mean these: 

🤍 (white) - the show owns my soul, period.

🖤 (black) - it’s my top-something-kind-of shows.

❤️ (red) - loved any aspect of the show: the stories / the tropes / the character(s) / pair(s) / the music / the aesthetics.

Ok, now, the list(s) will go under the cut. A little notes: I didn't separate them based on the genre (QL/non-QL) or the regions for my own convenience.

First, here’s the list of the shows I watched and finished this year, supposedly in a chronological order I picked them (but maybe some were off the timeline -- I didn’t really track them real time, unfortunately):

F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (Thailand 2021-2022) -- I watched almost all adaptation of Hana Yori Dango, and I must say, the Thai version was better written in most parts. Also, Kavin-Kaning was cute here, almost a match to the Korean’s counterpart: So YiJeong - Chu GaEul <3

🤍 Kieta Hatsukoi (Japan 2021) -- my first love, ever, in BL. I adore this show so so much!

❤️ 2gether + Still 2gether (Thailand 2020) -- not gonna lie, these ones gave me comfort in an unexplainable way.

❤️ TharnType (Thailand 2019) + TharnType 2: 7 Years of Love (Thailand 2020) -- you can say anything about this show or everything about it, but to me, this gave me my #1 comfort character: Type Thiwat Phawattakun, and it hasn’t changed.

Together with Me (Thailand 2017) + Together with Me: The Next Chapter (Thailand 2018) -- the friendship in this show was one of my favorites. Also, this show introduced me to my ultimate favorite BL casting pair: MaxTul. But my most favorite part? Their hometown by the river in the Amphawa district.

My Husband in Law (Thailand 2020) -- what to say more: a drama, that I enjoyed but will not revisit.

❤️ Bad Buddy (Thailand 2021-2022) -- the 5th episode’s rooftop kiss arc my beloved, and need to say no more, a comfort show until today.

Cupid's Last Wish (Thailand 2022) -- my introduction to EarthMix; in a way I was glad I watched this first instead of ATOTS.

❤️ Star and Sky: Star in My Mind (Thailand 2022) -- another comfort show, my adorable Khabkluen & Daonuea; can’t wait to see them again in Our Skyy 2!

🖤 KinnPorsche (Thailand 2022) -- the show that ignites something in me which I cannot label. KimChay will forever hold a chokehold on me. A show that, in one way or another, I might never have a proper closure with. That said, the chaotic that is their casts ensemble had a very special place in my heart.

🤍 Manner of Death (Thailand 2020) -- my forever #1 (not so) BL! TanBunn remains one of my top BL couples.

🖤 HIStory3: Trapped (Taiwan 2019) -- Meng Shao Fei is everything I need in a lead character, and I need him to be with Tang Yi. Also, this show has one of the most adorable second couple.

❤️ To My Star (South Korea 2021) -- this show is strangely beautiful to me. Kang Seo Joon and Han Ji Woo were those unlikely pair that I need to see being together. 

Semantic Error (South Korea 2022) -- a beauty that is not for me specifically, but I enjoyed watching the growth of relationship between Chu Sang Woo and Jang Jae Young. 

❤️ A Tale of Thousand Stars (Thailand 2021) -- I LOVE everything about this heartwarming show with my whole heart. Tian is another comfort character to me. And the village kids! I just can’t stress enough how I really appreciate and love it that the show made the kids part of every step on Tian’s emotional growth all throughout. The slow burn romance, though, tested my patience to the peak, but in the end, it was all worth it. My very brief halfway thought here and final thought here. Can’t wait to see Moonlight Chicken for more of EarthMix. 

🖤 Not Me (Thailand 2021-2022) -- I don’t think any words would suffice to express my thoughts about this show, so I’ll just settle with: it’s fucking brilliant, enough said.

❤️ Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan 2022) -- this show very much feels like a hug and comforting in way that especially when you’re at the age range of TogawaNozue you will understand. The conversation and gradual growth of emotional intimacy between them was something I could relate and reflect to. 

Tonhon Chonlatee (Thailand 2020-2021) -- I’m a big fan of mutual pining, but not so a big fan of last minutes reveal. That said, this was a show with another favorite friendship squad. 

Blacklist (Thailand 2019) -- watched this during my The Eclipse era mainly because of First and Khaotung were in it. I liked the overall story and the theme it brought up, but more especially I loved the cast ensemble and their chemistry with one another.

🖤 55:15 Never Too Late (Thailand 2021-2022) -- this was my first time watching a Thai series with a kind of slice-of-life genre, and I love it, such a realistically beautiful takeaway about youth and regret. Another lovely casts ensemble with my favorite performances of Khaotung and View. 

❤️ Vice Versa (Thailand 2022) -- an absolute beauty nobody could convince me otherwise! The aesthetics (and clearly the budget) of both audio and visual were on a whole different level. I adore JimmySea’s chemistry (and so I will definitely tune in for Last Twilight). The only thing I missed was Talay’s job as a colorist. Would’ve loved to see it more incorporated during his time in the parallel universe.

🤍 The Eclipse (Thailand 2022) -- this show owns my soul. AkkAyan is my everything. I lose my mind here but would love to experience the getting lost for any one more time. As imperfect as it was, this will always be that special show for me. 

Big Dragon (Thailand 2022) -- a dynamic that’s not for me but I stayed until the end with no complaints regardless. If anything, the color-coded lighting and sets of this show were actually something I believe to mean something more.

Love in the Air (Thailand 2022) -- not gonna lie, I’m here mostly for the depiction of the architectural students’ life (which brought some nostalgia in me) instead of the romances; dropped a bit during the few last episodes of PayuRain and picked it up again once PrapaiSky started. I love Sky and he must be protected at all costs, yet I found Prapai to be that exact figure Sky needed. I was aware of the talks within the fandom about this one, and I stayed with my take.

❤️ Enchanté (Thailand 2022) -- this one comes as the nicest surprise for me this year. It might not have the best twist of the story of all time, but I did enjoy every turn and the eventual reveal. As a diehard fans of friend-to-lover trope, I had an instant massive crush on Akk Itsara (as well as a silent and slowly whinny ‘why why whhhyy’ toward Theo) only the heaven understands. The music elevates every emotion I felt. The aesthetics were specifically made for me. My highly subjective full thoughts here. 

Fish Upon the Sky (Thailand 2021) -- my introduction to PondPhuwin, and what a chemistry! This show prepared me mentally for the rollercoaster of pinched heart that is Never Let Me Go. 

Choco Milk Shake (South Korea 2022) -- adorable! A cuteness that’s not really for me, but cute, nonetheless. 

And then, this list is for the shows that I’m still watching or still ongoing, and most likely will finish:

The Warp Effect (Thailand 2022-2023) -- a chaos I’m looking for ever since Love Shuffle.

Never Let Me Go (Thailand 2022-2023) -- a new (hard) obsession detected. (a reminder that I need to make a specific tag for this as I did My School President)

My School President (Thailand 2022-2023) -- they’re cute, so cute, the cutest thing I’ve ever watched! I love these babies so so much!!! And the thematic music? My everything! -- I scream a lot about them here.

Between Us (Thailand 2022-2023) -- so far, I’m loving all the relationships in this show, but most especially the friendship trio Team, Pharm, Manow - they’re everything I wanted to see in a squad!

Remember Me (Thailand 2022-2023) -- I got a mixed feeling about this one, but Champ’s storyline hits too close to home it hurts as much.

Gaus Electronics (South Korea 2022) -- hilarious! I adore the consistency of thematic advert on each episode.

The Shipper (Thailand 2020) -- with this one, I am now convinced there are no roles that First and Ohm could not tackle. 

And here, for the ones I’ve started (mostly 1-2 or some more episodes in) but as of now the mood just never right enough to continue. Most likely will still be on my list next year, so I am temporarily reserved my commentaries.

3 Will Be Free (Thailand 2019) 

10 Years Ticket (Thailand 2022-2023)

609 Bedtime Story (Thailand 2022-2023)

Cruel City (South Korea 2013)

Dark Blue Kiss (Thailand 2019)

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (South Korea 2022)

First Love: Hatsukoi (Japan 2022)

Ghost Doctor (South Korea 2022)

Grid (South Korea 2022)

I Told Sunset About You (Thailand 2020)

Love Between Fairy and Devil (China 2022)

My Liberation Notes (South Korea 2022)

Taxi Driver (South Korea 2021)

The King's Affection (South Korea 2021)

Triage (Thailand 2022)

Lastly, the ones that I dropped (but who knows I’m gonna pick it up again later):

Cutie Pie (2022) - dropped at later episodes.

LITA (2022) - dropped PayuRain’s part at around episode 4 or 5; picked up again when PrapaiSky’s part started.

So, that’s it, that’s my wrap-up. I hope 2023 treats us better and allows us many many more good shows to devour! 

[absolutebl]

2021 BL Wrap Up - Top Trends

I keep a pretty detailed spreadsheet of everything I watch in BL each year but I don’t watch/track a whole lot of Pinoy stuff, please be aware it is not represented in this analysis. 

TOP 10 BL TRENDS OF 2021

1. BL Gets Meta 

We had a number of BLs this year self referencing, being cheeky about tropes, and using parody to get meta over yaoi roots, something that has actually never happened before in the genre. Gen Y, Absolute BL, Lovely Writer, Call It What You Want 1 & 2, Love with Benefits, and Fish Upon the Sky (started, then retracted, it was... odd) all did this. Several of them employed voice over and/or 4th wall breaking to execute. 

I personally loved this, but it felt very teenage industry discovering itself and testing its limits. Also it’s pretty impossible to recommend these shows to outsiders, since they edge into incomprehensible if you don’t already know the genre, so this is also an odd kind of fan service. 

2. BL Goes Soft

Pretty much everyone tried on softness in 2021 (mutual gentleness and care) even Japan (a real shocker, Kieta Hatsukoi). Perhaps it was reactionary, a hunt for comfort in troubled times, but it was so crazy that even Taiwan went there. Generally Taiwan prefers to push boundaries and rough it up a bit but they casually trotted out Be Love In House: I Do’s epic level of tenderness, See You After Quarantine?’s gentleness, and Love is Science?’s ultra modern queer domesticity as if they were no big deal. These were the soup dumplings of BL - soft, a little chewy, and full of comforting cozy warmth. 

Thailand has always leaned soft (since Love Sick piloted in 2014) casual physical contact and affection, gentle touches, care, lingering glances, and cuddling have been part of their BL style, but they leaned into super squishy in 2021 with shows like Nitman, Y-Destiny, Golden Blood, Lovely Writer, Second Chance, and Close Friend. 

Even China got a little soft with Word of Honor which no one expected and we are all surprised was allowed to happen. I mean there was a high low hug AND a shoulder lean and everything. 

I really hope this trend continues and while I doubt Japan will ever go fully soft (their right back to emo with Utsukushii Kare), I have high hopes we might see softness leak more into Taiwanese and Korean BL. 

3. BL Gets Domestic 

Thai BL has dabbled in family home life before, and when we are lucky we get reps of sweet domesticity (especially if the seme is a caring Dom - Solo, Dean, Leo, Sun, etc...). But it felt like we got way more than normal this year and of a more intense style with different countries putting unique stamps on it. This might be a side effect of C19 and it’s certainly something that suits confined spaces and a home setting (making it easier and cheaper to film). 

I think the earliest rep we have for this kind of thing is Ai no Kotodama from Japan (2008). And there was a trickle of stuff from Japan and China for about a decade that dabbled in domesticity but none used it to drive narrative (Japan’s Does the Flower Bloom? from 2018 is sort of the culmination of this nascent form). Thailand first did it with 2016′s Grey Rainbow (this is the Thai BL THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED - sry do not watch it). 

But now we’re getting true windows into gay domesticity and family life, adopted kids and all. And our little gay family sometimes even gets to stay together. Some examples included: 

Ingredients (Thailand) 

Papa & Daddy (Taiwan)

Nation’s Brother (Vietnam)

Me Chon Dau Cao - Monster In Law (Vietnam) 

Love is Science? (Taiwan - BL side plot in a het drama) 

But others also have is as a core conceit, especially those set primarily in the home like Be Loved In House, To My Star, Still 2gether, See You After Quarantine? or even Golden Blood. It’s a trend I really hope continues and grows, so comforting. 

4. BL Plays With Its Food  

Basically prior to 2021 we had 3 BLs with food settings: 2019′s I Am Your King 2 from Thailand and 2020′s Pinoy offering My Day and Taiwan’s Craving You. (And a few Korean microfilms.)

In 2021 we got a lot more. Even if it didn’t all entirely take place in a cafe or restaurant that setting played a significant role. 

To My Star (Korea) 

Peach of Time (Korea/Thailand) 

Evening Cafe (Thailand) 

Love Area (Thailand)

You Are Ma Boy (Vietnam) 

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) 

Bite Me (Thailand) 

The Tasty Florida (Korea) 

My Sweet Dear (Korea) 

Apparently chefs are the new engineers. There were also professional chef/barista/waiter characters in series that were not set in the industry like Ingredients, Brothers, and My Mate Match. And more to come in 2022. 

5. Ukes with Agency!  

Kiyoi in My Beautiful Man, TeaKyung in Light on Me, Bank in Golden Blood, Nampu in Top Secret Together, Jin in Nitiman, Nut in My Boy, Kaitoon in Love Area, Pob in Don’t Say No, and Kaow in Brothers all represented for ukes in strongly uke/seme driven stories who still had a ton of agency. This was usually expressed as a desire to emotionally communicate with their semes, verbally or physically. Also, they all showed a certain amount of self awareness, self acceptance, and self understanding around being gay as a result. Occasionally tho, they just punched their idiot seme. And that was fun too. 

Also shout out to Note & Ta (no uke/seme dynamic) in The Yearbook who got very little screen time but might be the best gay communicators we’ve ever seen in a BL.  

You go boys! 

6. BL X3 - The Dreaded Love Triangle  /_\

BL has always had faen fatals but love triangles, not so much. (Japan’s 2008 Taiikukan Baby is the only one I have on record). A true love triangle just means the story, screen time, and the visual tropes treat both possible love interests as entirely viable and possible. 

Gen Y the series - side dishes Thaunu’s seme with 2 ukes love triangle, pretty unique actually 

Top Secret Together - part of the friends to lovers side plot 

Light on Me - the cherry on the love triangle Sunday 

Love Area - the second lead syndrome was fierce with this one 

The Tasty Florida - edged into it but mostly was using the faen fatal 

My Mate Match - cohabitation quarantine project 

Kieta Hatsukoi AKA Vanishing My First Love - started out with each person liking the wrong other person, circular love triangle M2F2M2M, but sorted it fast 

I’m A Fool For - Hong Kong’s little offering (sad) 

Love With Benefits - cohabitation quarantine project 

I don’t like love triangles but even I thought Light On Me was excellent. Still I’m not wild about this particular trend (and I wonder if it’s a Kdrama side effect), but it sure was fun to watch all the different countries tackle it and Japan’s take (Kieta Hatsukoi) was really unique and clever. 

7. Do I Spot Actual Queer Rep? 

Honest queer rep has started to show up more (FINALLY). Everything from out gay main characters (please may this be the death of gay-for-you) to the rise of the gay advice dad (HIStory 4, Be Love In House, Top Secret Together, Love is Science?) to mention of (and implied use of) actual lube. 

It used to be so rare to see any BL characters in leading roles who identified as gay (outside of Taiwan). Now it’s almost - dare I say it? - commonplace. Or if not common in the leads, at least some of the support cast will code/identify as gay. 

Thailand put an out gay IRL actor couple together on screen and stopped caring about pushing a gay-for-you agenda. They seem to be at the hand-wavy stage of “you can believe he’s bi, GFY, or gay, we don’t care to define it anymore.” They even directly addressed it as problematic in Bad Buddy. They also had more out gay mains than ever before (explicit or not), a pansexual in Don’t Say No, and TharnType got on screen married. Thai BL still punches down on femme and trans characters, but a little flame is leaking in whether they like it or not (side eyes My Boy), and that aspect is fabulous. OF COURSE IT IS. 

Taiwan gave us tons of actually queer stuff, Papa & Daddy, See You After Quarantine, Light, Love Is Science. As well as depicting a marriage of equality actually on the screen in a BL (to be fair they did that first with Craving You in 2020). They also depicted discussions about verse, topping/bottoming, safe sex, consent, and surrounding queer fam. Even Pride showed up. Taiwan leans into masculine presenting, weak seme/uke couples, which means their femme and gender fluid rep is poor but I still gotta give them credit for the equality agenda they are pushing on a very willing audience. Give us MOAR, we can take it!  

Vietnam got in on the action and gave us a cross dressing gay main character with out gay besties working in a cafe and running an accidental long con on their boss, who consequently has the shortest bisexual identity crisis ever. Watch My Lascivious Boss, it’s groundbreaking BL - we haven’t had anything like it since I am Your King (Thailand 2017) or Udagawachou de Matteteyo (2015) and neither of those were this happy. Also Vietnam repped butch GLs in high school! (Stupid Boys Stupid Love). Which I think is an actual first. We’ve had lesbians before but butch? SO GOOD. 

Even Korea gave us an out bisexual in Tasty Florida AND crossdressed for BL. I stil can’t get over Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding. I mean it wasn’t even played for laughs, it was genuine and treated gracefully... by Korea. Can you BELIEVE we got that? And more is coming in 2022. 

I know these seem like baby steps in the west but trust me these are big-ass murder-walk stiletto strides being taken. 

(Also tiny shout out to Korea’s The King’s Affection, the first time I’ve seen one of the ubiquitous “girl disguises herself as a boy” historicals actually deal openly and honestly with a bisexual identity crisis and acceptance. And now... how many of us now want Rowoon to do BL? Pretty much all of us.) 

PRODUCTION TRENDS 

8. BL Takes to the Skies 

Wellp, BL discovered drone tech this year. We saw a number of BLs employ drone work rather ruthlessly. China in WoH, of course, but also Taiwan and Thailand used drones in some of their stuff. Close Friend was the most startlingly egregious, but you know, boys with toys. 

What can you do? 

9. BL Gets Up in Your Face 

On the flip side, I think the wild success of ITSAY last year impacted taste in close filming style that we haven’t seen much of in Thailand before now. Nitiman, Hometown Embrace, Second Chance, Golden Blood, and Y-Destiny all zoomed in crazy close on faces. More than I’ve ever seen the Thai pulps do before. Let’s be frank, I wouldn’t trust the Thai makeup crew either. But it was Yearbook that really forced me to notice this trend. 

Full frame faces is a popular indie filming stye for encouraging claustrophobic-intimacy and emotional tension in drama, and I don’t mind it in limited doses (Japan & Taiwan) but I’m not wild about a lot in one drama or extensively in one scene. 

Like drone work, it can be easily overdone and makes me stop thinking about the story and start thinking about the directing. And I am one of those who believes that in BL, I shouldn’t be getting distracted by technique. 

Speaking of technique...

 10. BL Forgets its Roots 

Finally (and sadly for me) there wasn’t much use of yaoi style (live action manga) framing and staging techniques. Possibly because there were so few manga adaptations. Color Rush hit it out of the park, Light One Me put its own blue/white twist on the clarity of this style, and, of course, Given was on point. But that was about it. 

There were tiny nods from H4 and the end of year stuff from Japan, but apart from that, it seems like this is a stye of staging and framing has had its heyday. 

It also demonstrates that no one storyboards anymore. 

*insert whimpering here*

POSSIBLE 2022 TRENDS?

I expect most of the above to be amped up and continue in 2022. In fact, as I type this queer rep already got a major boost in Episode 9 of Bad Buddy (which is from heavy hitter GMMTV, notoriously slow to evolve), by directly addressing and correcting for

gay for you

wifey language 

inadequate GL rep 

If felt a lot like GMMTV was trying to correct for SOTUS’s mistakes. How far they have come in 5 short years. Honestly, I have to say a lot of this is probubly due to global reach and international popularity and the active interactions of the fandom. 

Tears & Blood 

I think we are going to see a spike in dark BL from Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand maybe even Vietnam - gritty pretend realism with sad & amorphous endings, heavy illness content (AKA the cancer mom stories), violence, and even kink. It’s going to take the guise of mafia and if we are lucky boys-in-uniform, (possibly sports), but also youthful more serious trials with family and illness. Think Your Name Engraved Herein style content with lower production values. 

Taiwan and Japan have always dabbled in this kind of BL (see 2021′s Light & Pornographer series) but they are going to start to really push (subconsciously) to distinguish themselves from Korea with grittiness. Both might even lean more into heavily queer affirming stuff as Japan finally tilts towards marriage equality (which goes hand in hand with realism - code for darker content). 

Thailand, on the other hand, is producing so much content, each new BL with gumption is going to look for ways to distinguish itself from all the other Thai BLs, so I think we might see the pulps lean darker, or at least wistfully sad. As disappointing as I found The Yearbook, Seven Project, and The Best Story I think they might herald a trend.* 

* I wrote this before GMMTV announced its 2022 line up and now I feel terribly chuffed with myself. 

I have a data analysis post where I go into growth numbers and statistical trends here. 

BL 2021 STATS & TRENDS BY COUNTRY  

(source)