#takara kun to amagi kun

[lurkingshan]

hi there i hope im not bothering you but i was hoping you could recommend me some good japanese bls? hopefully completed ones? no pressure ofc!

Can I recommend you some good Japanese bls? *laughs maniacally* Oh my anonymous friend, you have come to the right place.

First, go here for a nice little variety pack of some of my all time favorites to get you started. I will add some more gems here in no particular order (all of these are complete and available to stream):

Kieta Hatsukoi (Viki)

You have probably heard of this tumblr fav about a very confused mess of a boy who gets into all kinds of Situations while trying to sort out who he has feelings for and what it even means to like somebody. This one is super sharp, funny, and has an endearing ensemble cast.

Kabe Koji Nekoyashiki kun Desires to be Recognized  (Viki)

Two childhood friends--one a doujinshi artist, one a pop idol--reconnect and get the chance to sort out old feelings. This one has great wacky energy while still being quite emotionally deep.

Life: Love on the Line (Viki)

This bl film follows a pair of high school lovers through coming of age and the challenges of adulthood as queer men. It's so lovely.

Seven Days (Youtube)

A short film told in two parts, this is a very simple story about a high school boy who is willing to date anyone who asks for a week, and the classmate who is so curious about this guy's deal that he decides to take a week for himself. I bet you can guess what happens next!

Takara-kun to Amagi-kun (GagaOOLala, Viki)

Two high school boys decide to date each other. That's it, that's the show, and despite that incredibly simple premise there's a lot here.

If It's With You (GagaOOLala)

A jaded before his time kid who doesn't believe in love meets a nice boy and reconsiders. Another very simple one, but so well executed.

My Personal Weatherman (GagaOOLala)

And on the not so simple end of the spectrum, this is a story about two men whose communication problems run so deep that they've managed to enter into a relationship with wildly different ideas of what exactly they are to each other. Equal parts kink and confusion.

Perfect Propose (GagaOOLala)

The story of an overworked salaryman who reunites with his old high school friend and moves him in as a de facto caretaker. This one is very cathartic for anyone who's ever had a soul destroying job.

At 25:00 in Akasaka (GagaOOLala)

Two former college classmates are cast opposite each other in a bl drama. Old feelings and insecurities return, professional and personal boundaries get blurred, and communication struggles ensue.

A Man Who Defies the World of BL (GagaOOLala, Viki)

This hilarious parody of Japanese bl is most fun to watch after you've immersed yourself in the others, because the jokes will land harder the more familiar you are with the genre and its tropes. There are now three parts to this and they play out as a continuous story.

I will stop there for now or we could be here all day. I hope you find some shows to enjoy, anon! Feel free to stop by for recs anytime. And for ongoing shows, I am always tracking Japanese ql here.

[bengiyo]

We are headed into our final Drama Shower show of the season. How do you rank the shows we got this season and how are you feeling about the direction of the project?

What is Drama Shower and Why Does It Matter?

Before we get into rating these shows, I want to do a breakdown of what this is. To give you a sense of how big a deal Drama Shower is, fans are regularly updating a Wikipedia page for it with relevant links to follow the project. Also, there is a dedicated MDL page for it.

Drama Shower is a dedicated half-hour programming block on MBS, a Japanese broadcaster that is over 70 years old, in conjunction with Kadokawa, a Japanese publisher and holding group, that plays BL content at 1:30 am on Fridays. The project's main producer is Kaoru Azuma, who is a self-described long-time BL fan. He wants to show that BL can do a variety of stories in genre, and has recently stated that he wants to produce original content through the project as well.

We originally had six shows air through year one: Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss!, Senpai, This Can't Be Love!, Takara-kun to Amagi-kun, Eternal Yesterday, Candy Color Paradox, and Jack o' Frost.

I originally reviewed these shows as overall a mixed bag, but showing great promise. I liked that they got more comfortable with depictions of m/m intimacy over time. I thought Mr. Unlucky was legitimately funny (9), Senpai never found its footing (6), Takara and Amagi mildly squandered their premise (8), Eternal Yesterday was extremely poignant (10), Candy Color Paradox had ambitions that exceeded its talent pool (7), and Jack o' Frost was a really strong finish (9.5).

MBS seemed to enjoy the performance of this project enough to continue it for another year.

For me, I think it's very significant to give BL itself a time slot to see how audiences are responding to BL as a concept compared to the pitch of individual shows. I'm really encouraged by MBS doing this. Even if you don't care about the name MBS, you have interacted with their content, because they are also behind Full Metal Alchemist and Haikyuu! anime adaptations.

Rating Year 2

I actually liked the way year 2 started, even if I'm a bit mixed on the end. I really loved opening with Tokyo in April is... I liked that they had BL trying to be topical. I think the show unfortunately conflates some things it shouldn't, but I loved TIAI and I loved Ren and Ryunosuke's experience being gay men. I liked the changes they made to the source material. This show was dark in a way that it owned, and I really like that. I gave it a 9.

We then moved to My Personal Weatherman, and that went over well for the people who like to see really hot people go at it with each other. I actually enjoyed how much Yoh and Segasaki actively misunderstood each other even as they were speaking to each other. I don't know that they exactly completed their story, and I suspect that there may be a future outing for this show. Despite enjoying it, I think it didn't get all of its pieces together fully and gave it an 8.5.

We then crossed over into uncertain territory with One Room Angel. Despite enjoying a lot of what was going on in this show, I don't actually think it's a romance. It's my understanding that the angel character is a lot younger in the source material, and so they may have been a little shy about how much they did with these characters on screen. I also don't think the storytelling was balanced between the leads. However, because I am susceptible to complex stories about grief, I gave this show an 8.

Now, we have Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun. I hated this show so much. I think it makes the unfortunate mistake of asking me to care about how homophobia and public perceptions impacts people through its flashback drama, but then does nothing with that in the front. It sucked so hard, and I'm really disappointed because I thought this show had some of the most potential, and I thought Toki was one of the most watchable characters Drama Shower had produced. I ended up giving it a 4.

Our next and final show (I think) for this outing is called My Strawberry Film. This one will also be in a high school, but I know little about it, other than we may have a GL plot in it.

So, overall I'd give Drama Shower an 8. I think fans of BL, and especially Japanese BL, should continue to show up and support it. The fact that we have a dedicated programming block is important. The fact that none of these shows has felt like a retread so far is super important. Drama Shower is varied. There is something in here for almost everyone. Drama Shower is the biggest commitment to BL we've had from a distributor other than GMMTV's ongoing BL slate. Taiwan has Vidol doing is four projects, but Drama Shower is the first time I know of that a Japanese distributor has focused on BL in a meaningful, ongoing way. We should stick with it.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

I choose you as you are a million times 'Cause I am not ashamed of you I won't walk away from you I will carry you Through your darkest night When you're terrified I will carry you When the waters rise When your hope runs dry I will carry you ~ I will carry you by Ellie Holcomb

My School President

The Untamed

Addicted Heroin

Ghost Host, Ghost House

Secret Crush On You

You Make Me Dance

Takara-kun to Amagi-kun

Roommates of Poongduck 304

Favorite piggyback rides (Part 1/?) as part of my favorite bl-trope collection (no particular order).

[summerofofelia]

15 day BL challenge time!

OG here 🩵

Day 13 - Give 5 good boys a gold star

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER DON’T FORCE ME TO RANK THEM

JJ (This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans)

Whether it’s babysitting his hapless best friend or fighting off the advances of an eccentric playboy billionaire, JJ does it all with the grace of a sugar glider (adorable and tiny but still soaring above the bullshit). His heart is always in the right place and he doesn’t compromise his morals even when a pretty boy bats his eyelashes at him and promises diamonds and yachts. Even though he rolls his eyes and complains, he’s Plawan’s ride or die. My guy literally paid his bestie’s rent and worked as a server FOR FREE to help Plawan win back the man of his dreams. He deserves all the gold stars.

Alan (Pit Babe)

This man is the father to a garage of dumbasses. He’s basically holding a horde of kittens in his arms that keep jumping off and he’s frantically scrambling to keep them all from wandering off a cliff. He’s like the tired dog owner that spots their dog with something in their mouth and is like, “what have you got? Drop it! Drop it!” And they have to wrestle a chunk of metal out of their mouth. He collects strays and loves them all and gives them a safe space and his heart is broken when someone betrays his little found family. He is a poignant example of gentle masculinity. Man has to jump in a pool and swim laps because he’s panicking about being left on read. He buys matching his and his bracelets. He’s both a disaster and the only one that has his shit together. Give him a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate.

Win (Between Us & Until We Meet Again)

You know what the great thing about Win is? It’s the fact that he keeps trying. This poor little dude is so terrified of vulnerability and needing someone that he completely shuts himself off. But then he meets Team. At first it’s a one night stand, then a two night stand, then he’s slowly falling in love with this little ball of sunshine that hugs him in his sleep and makes his heart beat faster. And it scares him. And yeah, he freezes up and runs away sometimes but he always comes back and keeps going because underneath it all he has a big heart and cares so, so much. My sweet boy, give him all the stars.

Jack (History 3: Trapped)

Okay, okay, is Jack the righthand man of a mafia boss? Yes. Is he a ruthless killer? Also yes. Does he have a long, dark history of being a mercenary for the mob? Most likely. But consider this…

HE IS SO ADORABLE. HE MAKES PACKED LUNCHES AND COOKS DINNER WEARING A GRANDMA APRON AND HE GIVES UP EVERYTHING TO BE WITH HIS CUTE LITTLE BOYFRIEND.

If ruthless killer, explain this

I’m giving him two gold stars.

Vegas (KinnPorsche)

JUST KIDDING

Amagi (Takara-kun to Amagi-kun)

Amagi is basically a fluffy baby chick. He’s a little ball of sunshine. He’s chaotic and goofy and trying his best. Watching him fall in love is so funny and sweet and heart warming. In fact, give Takara a gold star too! These boys have healthier communication than 80% of adult BL couples. Truly the goodest boys.

[gillianthecat]

I feel like Japanese BLs use place and space and landscape differently. Perhaps it’s as simple as the fact that Japanese architecture and plant life looks different from Thai, Korean or Taiwanese architecture and plant life. Perhaps it’s just that the Japanese industry generally has higher budgets and more experienced/skilled people behind the camera, which creates a certain look. But there’s something about the use of space, either expansive and wide open, or closed-in and intimate that’s… I don’t know what it is, but it feels like it’s something.

This was brought on in part by watching Eternal Yesterday and then watching @iguessitsjustme’s HiraKoyoi video (which almost made me cry this time, now that I’m primed to). And they got thinking about the way there’s a certain… almost desolate emptiness? that’s not the right feeling. perhaps just… openness, realness, slight wildness… to the landscape in this trio of small town high school BL I’ve watched recently, the two above plus Takara-kun to Amagi-kun. Even Kabe Koji somehow felt that way when they returned to their hometown. Is that just what all small towns look like in Japan? (Are they even set in small towns?) Or are these locations deliberate choices.

And even in city settings there’s a certain way that buildings and spaces are shot, inside and out. But I don’t know enough about filmmaking techniques to say what it is.

If anyone else has any thoughts on this I’d love to hear them. I’ve never been to any of these countries and haven’t watched all that much other media from there, outside of BLs, so I have little context, just vague feelings.

[bl-bracket]

Greenest Flag in a BL

Round 1

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

[theflagscene]

15 Day BL Challenge (part 2)

Day 29: Best Wingman?

Omg, so many! Imma pick out my top five 😉

Win & Dean - UWMA/Between Us (they were each other’s wingman)

Yai - The Sign

Lan Xichen - MDZS/The Untamed (the number one wangxian shipper)

Katori - Takara-kun to Amagi-kun

[advocatekwlaunt]

one thing about Japanese bls is that they will be ✨thiccc✨ with plot.

virgin @ 30?😯 guess what? you're a witch now. you can read minds! read minds and figure out what's wrong with you.*👍🏽

crushing on the resident cool guy?🤔 well guess what? that blond tsundere mf is JUST AS OBSESSED WITH YOU AS YOU ARE WITH HIM (maybe more!!!)...have fun misunderstanding each other every single episode 🩷

unluckiest guy in the world?🫠🫵🏽 well guess what? the luckiest guy in the world IS IN LOVE WITH YOU and he's willing to just be a little unluckier if it means he gets to be with you.🥹aw.

wanna top the DILF boss?😎convince him it's in the interests of anti-ageing that he let you top him. 💪🏽make him have an anxiety attack while you're at it.🫂

like to eat naked?😶‍🌫️ Great. the guy that had a crush on you in high school WILL COOK FOR YOU, and you can eat naked. 🫡In fact, he wants you to. He really does.

your crush has a crush?😢guess what? that crush thinks YOU have a crush on him and he actually becomes YOUR crush and then he has a CRUSH ON YOU.👻 we're crushing. u get a crush! u get a crush! EVERYONE IS GETTING A CRUSHHHHH.🫨 'cept the primary crush. she gets nothing...

JUST JOKING SHE GETS A CRUSH TOOOOOOOOO!!!🤠 everyone's a winner.

kissed a girl in for commercial when you were younger and never stopped loving her?🤭 WELL GUESS WHAT?? THAT GIRL...was a boy.🫤 he's still a boy.🫤 WHY DO YOU STILL WANT TO KISS HIM are you gae bro?🏳️‍🌈⁉️

*for legal purposes this is a joke.

[serasennatonen]

Amagi: "be cool"

Comes through the door

Amagi: "successful"

Takara: "if you wanted to kiss me why didn't you just say that?"

[brazilian-whalien52]

You're always posting Dorama stuff, can you give me a a recommendation list?

I into gays and don't like anything with dubious consent (or not consent at all), underage or incest (the two Thai Doramas I tried had both)

Pretty please you seem to know a lot of them

You're always posting Dorama stuff, can you give me a a recommendation list?

I into gays and don't like anything with dubious consent (or not consent at all), underage or incest (the two Thai Doramas I tried had both)

Pretty please you seem to know a lot of them

Hi, I would love to recommend some!

Thai Dramas

(Thailand has the most BLs and a lot of variety but also can be a little messy because the industry is still growing)

* I told sunset about you - about two teenagers that are rivals and are taking the college exams entrance. A classic come out of age story but also a brilliant masterpiece (acting, cinematography...)

* My School President the series - A light High School romance. Has the vibe of club activities anime. They are all dumbass and it is wholesome, funny and full of music (the characters remind me of the mugiwaras).

* Bad Buddy the series - One of the best titles. It is a college romance with romantic comedy Romeo and Juliet vibes. Two neighbors that the family hate each other meet again in college, but they are in rivals majors. First eps may be a little confusing but it picks up.

* Triage the series - a time travel stick in a loop story. There is an age gap since the protagonist is a doctor, while the patient he is trying to save in the time loop is a college student. But the story is pretty interesting.

* Not me the series - This one is about a set of students fighting against the oppression. White learns that his twin brother Black is in a comma and decides to take his place to find out who did this. However, he soons founds out that his brother is in a revolutionary group.

* Moonlight chicken - A more mature story. It is about the owner of a chicken shop, his family and the new men trying to flirt with him.

* A tale of thousand stars - About a spoiled brat that has a heart problem and ends up receiving the heart of a volunteer teacher. After the transplant, he decides to learn more about this women and changes to the little village that she was a volunteer teacher. More slow paced but a pretty story.

* Be my favorite the series - the protagonist feel like he wasn't able to get anything he wanted in live. He gets an object that allows him to time travel to his first year of college and change his future. It is a funny romantic comedy with some good lessons.

He is coming to me - A coming out of age story about a college student that can see ghosts (the age may feel weird because he first see the ghost as a kid but they are both the same age since the ghost died as a college sudtent too)

Japonese

(Japonese dramas a lot of times I feel are more mature, for an older audience or they hit the fluffy first love stories)

* What did you eat yesterday - About being older and queer. A more domestic slice of life. Definitely my favorite.

* My love mix up - this is an amazing first story! It is a light and funny romantic comedy set in high school. The characters are all adorable.

* If it's with you - just a cute and sweet romance, also high school

* My Beautiful man - this is a really good story, warning that the characters are more obsessive. Still you analyze their motivation and what is the story meaning. They are with each other.

* Cherry Magic - A classic. Has a Thai adaptation that is also worth checking and an anime. The protagonist is a 30y that gets the power to read people mind because he is a virgin. And the story? Pretty funny and wholesome.

* Our dinning table - Wholesome story. The protagonist becomes friends with a cheerful kid and his older brother and they bond over meals.

Old fashioned cupcake - a really beautiful story about allowing yourself to enjoy things even when growing older

* Takara-kun and Amagi-kun - cute, cute, cute and adorable. Fluffy high school romance

Korean

(Korean BL are usually the less problematics one. They are still small and I am not the biggest fan, but if you like their story most you can start without fear. The two first are the ones i like the most)

* Semantic Error - Romantic Comedy in a college setting. Fun to watch and the characters are interesting

* The Eighth sense - Another unique queer story. It is about a boy that moves away from his small town to attend college and falls in love with his senior. Good acting, cinematography and chemistry.

* Unintentional Love story - a recently fired office worker goes to the beach to take a vacation and there finds a recluse ceramic artist. It is a nice one to see

* To my star - Cute and good to pass the time

Taiwan

(Taiwan has more compelling plots but also is pretty messy so may be a hit miss)

* DNA says I love you - it is a hard story to explain, but it delivers really well complexity. The characters are interesting and the plot is different too.

* Be loved in house - a romance story about a boss and his employee that do not get along but end up living together. The dynamic is pretty fun and no need to worry about power in balance.

* History 3 trapped - the romance story of a policeman and the Mafia leader. Pretty fun to watch. I also recommend history 2 crossing the line (highschool volleyball romance) and history 3 make our days count (beautiful and amazing highschool romance but may make you cry). They are stand alone.

* My tooth your love - Romantic Comedy about a dentist and his patient that hates to go to the dentist over traumatic reasons, but is forced by his sister. A little cheesey and cliche, but a fun watch.

* No.1 for you - about two university students that are rivals.

Philippines

(I love their dramas but there isn't many)

* Gameboys - super funny but also can be quite heavy since it talks about the COVID pandemic. Two boys start talking online during the pandemic.

* Like in the movies - beautiful queer coming out story. It is about a college student that moves out to an apartment but he does not manage to get a job, so to pay rent he agrees to fake date his neighbor.

Chinese

(Chinese BL unfortunately are censored so you will not get any kiss of them or explicit romantic confession, but you can see the love is there)

* Untamed - the first of many, it is a cultivation story so it is complex at the start but really compelling and engaging plot

* Word of honor - also a cultivation story about two shameless bastards. Gets your attention.

* Guardian - it mixes some of the cultivation world elements with modern detective work. Funny and engaging.

* The spirealm - the characters enter in a game about live and death. A little confusing but I really love the characters

I tried to make a list with more variety so you can choose from. If you want more recs later let me know. A warning would be that a lot of this stories are still growing so you can see some problems in them but it is worth giving a chance. If you want to ask over an specific taste you have in stories, let me know because I can see it better.

- So I didn't know if by "no underage" romance you were talking about underage x adult or stories with no underage sex. I decided to add high school romance to the list that do not have sex and there is no age gap.

Stories that are not bl but i consider so and recommend" Beyond Evil and Devil Judge

Some that I didn't finish so they are not in the list but a lot of people rec: The Sign (really good and with a more complex plot), 3 will be free (poly), Until we meet again (soulmates), 23.5 (GL), She loves to eat and she loves to cook (GL), Killer and Healer (Chinese)

If you finish both A tale of thousand Stars and Bad buddy they have a special together in Our Skyy

[guzhufuren]

i'm enjoying Takara Kun To Amagi Kun soo much they are both dramatic little weirdos who are very thirsty for each other it's beautiful to witness their antics

[ql-of-all-time-bracket]

QL of All Time - Round 1: Bad Buddy (2021-2022) vs Takara-kun to Amagi-kun (2022)

[summerofofelia]

15 day BL challenge time, last day!

OG here 💙

Day 15 - Bestest Besties

As someone who is chronically single and has relied on a support network of friends to get through the past, like, forever, I really love it when friendships are given intentional and equal treatment. In life, we find soulmates, yes, in romance. But platonic soulmates are equally as meaningful and seeing that depicted onscreen with warmth and affection is a beautiful thing. So for this final day, I can’t just choose one bestest bestie.

One of my favourite friendship group dynamics is the “collective braincell”

Jin Xiao Bao, Su Yun & Jin Bao (Meet You At The Blossom)

Mum says it’s my turn to have the braincell

GMMTV may be lacking in some ways, but one thing they do so well is friendship groups. Individually these guys are smart, competent humans. Together they have one braincell that rattles around their heads like a tumbleweed.

Literally all the characters (We Are)

Man & Boss (2gether)

I’m not kidding when I say my favourite part of 2gether was Mike and Gunsmile. I genuinely just want them to be in every GMMTV BL, just in the background, don’t even give them a script, just let them improvise.

The other friendship dynamic I love is chaotic + calm, aka disaster + disaster interpreter.

Tiwson (My School President)

Katori (Takara-kun to Amagi-kun)

JJ (This love doesn’t haven’t long beans)

But honestly, if we’re talking about the bestest besties, the ones that bring me so much joy, the mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day, it’s these guys…

Team, Pharm & Manow (Until We Meet Again & Between Us)

[avorbl]

Takara kun to Amagi kun Episode 1

[my-boys-love-boys]

2022 has been the year of meaningful and messy BL, and I predict next year is going to be even better.