#thai lakorn stuff

[gunsatthaphan]

#keep your enemies closer but only if they're clowns.

[sailorjisunq]

the girls of 23,5

[dropthedemiurge]

There was a coup show in my country today, u know, mad insane violent people trying to bite and scare each other without care for normal people, steadily but surely erasing our hope for future

And there's me, still thinking about my silly little gay men in their silly little thai shows that say that we just have to be kind to each other and ourselves amidst the madness that is world

[yourstormthlaylirahh]

.

[absolutebl]

BLs with Strong Historical Elements

Costume dramas, historical BLs, and BLs with time travel or flashbacks to historical locations & times.

These are in order of my personal preference, best at the top.

I Feel You Linger in the Air

2023 Thailand

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). It's about a gay man from our time who falls into the past, becomes a servant to a noble house, and falls in love with the heir. It turns out this has all happened several times before. Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn (but not as much as To Sir With Love and with way less scenery chewing). This is an elegant and classy soulmates BL... from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and as individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t good either. This show could easily have earned a 10/10 from me except that it fumbled the… erm… balls in the final quarter. Argh. Whatever.

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding

2021 Korea - WeTV

A boy cross-dresses to take his runaway sister's place as a bride to a shy scholar, turns out they like being married. A historical setting allowed this BL to use some seriously old fashioned romance tropes (arranged marriage, evil step-sisters, Cinderfella) but also modern BL stylings like fake relationship & secret identity (drag) plus some cute gay panic. It reminded me of 12th Night more than anything else which just happens to be my favorite Shakespeare play. For all these reasons, I adored it.

(the ghat kiss!)

Tinted With You

2022 Korea - Viki

Fun stylish time travel meets portal fantasy with a likable cast, historical setting, and two actual kisses that mitigate the rough plot and issues around anachronisms.

Word of Honor

2021 China (censored) - Viki/YouTube?

I don’t rec Chinese stuff often, because I believe in censoring the censors, but this show is one of my favorites of the post 2016 censored bromances. It’s two murder-gay assassins (pining sunshine/tsundere), and they are so insanely gay for two boys who will never be allowed to kiss. Tropes include: wuxia, soulmates, paranormal, historical, and fantasy elements.

To Sir, With Love AKA Khun Chai

2022 Thailand - YouTube?

This is a true lakorn (basically Thai tellenovella or soap opera) with scenery chewing performances, especially from the mother characters. Gone With the Wind + Days of Our Lives but gay. That said? I loved it: A glorious central brother relationship (the best, made me cry), het romances, class divide + gay *gasp* main romance - oh my word, the campy drama of it all! Arranged marriage, rebellion, cut sleeves, over-the-top death with curses and regrets, beautiful if inaccurate costumes, secrets unraveling, cover ups, sparkle murder, sex herbs, coils within coils including snakes and murderous green metallic sequins (is anything gayer on this earth?). It’s a WILD ride but it does end happy for our gay boys. A man cries when he finds DEATH GLITTER. Come on! You haffa watch it. That said, like Manner of Death I struggle to rate something on a BL scale when it patently isn’t a BL. So I ended up giving this exactly what I gave that show, 7/10 I enjoyed it a whole lot, but not as a BL.

The Untamed (Special BL Edition)

2020 China (censored) - YouTube

Censored wuxia bromance, amorphous ending. Probubly the best known BL of its kind out of China and responsible for bring many fans to the BL side.

Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go

2023 Thailand - YouTube

I was nervous to watch this PondPhuwin vehicle but I liked it a lot! Doomed soulmates + paranormal time travel to fix the past. I’m happy for the outfits and the dancing (if not the singing). It’s not a bad premise and it’s nice to see GMMTV lean into its high production values for a change. I'd adore a full historical starring these two and this was definitely the best of the second series of Our Skyy. I don't think you have to have watched the original Never Let Me Go to enjoy this.

Legend of Long Yang: Rebirth

2017 China

Gaga

Whipping boy trope... literally, servant character takes the strap for the prince, who then makes him his bodyguard and lover when he becomes king. Low budget historical, comes off as kind of cosplay wuxia version of Irresistible Love, but we get (in the credits) an actual kiss, and they both live. So yay for small mercies.

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner

2023 Korea (historical flash backs)

iQIYI

A new employee at a film company encounters a director who claims to have lived 300 years and insists that they have to date (eat, hug & kiss) if baby doesn't want to die. It has a lot of Japanese elements, not the least of which are: an office setting, the fact that every character in this show is unhinged, and a killing of the gays. Featuring a gorgeous & stellar cast, TDWBMD should have utilized them less for melodrama and more for chemistry. This BL surprised me by going there with a lipstick mark AND an actually gay idol. But (you knew there was a but) while it's a unique twist on an office romance it is NOT a unique twist on the doomed red thread trope, resulting in it feeling less than the sum of its parts and ultimately unsatisfying. This might have also had to do with the fact that this was one of those KBLs where I felt how very short it was the whole time I was watching, like I was missing something constantly, in every episode. Worth watching for some but seriously flawed.

First Love Again

2022 Korea (historical flash backs) - Viki

A popular novelist who remembers his past lives meets his soulmate for the third time, only to find she has been reincarnated into the body of a man. This one started out a touch mean-spirited, but we eventually got a good kiss. The confession/rejection scene was justified and the reconciliation and ending was... fine. All in all, the pacing felt rushed and the romantic arc was underdeveloped. They go from like to love to boyfriends in a red hot minute. But that’s par for the course with Korea’s short form. If you don’t mind a heavy does of melodrama in your BL this one has a solid story with a strong concept that’s well acted and produced, making it a classic KBL with better than average chemistry but ultimately a touch forgettable.

Love in Spring AKA Spring of Crush

2022 Korea

This show was all over the place with uneven acting, narrative, and focus (sometimes it wanted to be a slapstick comedy, sometimes a depressing melodrama) which meant no one, actors or viewers, took anyone or anything seriously.... AND it’s a bromance. I was left wondering if SalHyung is now code for “they were roommates” in Kdrama historicals but otherwise largely apathetic and unimpressed. Korea, I now know you can do better. Do better.

Mermaid's Jade

2019 China (censored-esk) - Gaga

Kills the gay.

The Male Queen: Han Zi Gao

2016 China - Gaga

Kills the gay. Schrodinger's BL, both a BL and entirely not one at the same time.

Diary of Heong Yeong Dang

2014 Korea

Kills the Gay

I was gonna do a top 10 list, but there aren't enough by my metrics, so many end sadly.

This post at the behest of @verymuchof thank you for the idea!

Dated April 2023, includes only BLs that had finished their run by that date. Not responsible for cool costume flix that come after that. But you should check the comments to see if any have been added by others!

I might have missed a few that only have time historical elements since I don't always track those.

Also I would like to point out a decided lack of Japan on this list. My ninja yaoi consuming tiny past self is VERY upset about this void.

WHERE ARE MY GAY NINJAS??!!!

(source)

[lurkingshan]

10 Things I Love About Khun Chai

I did it, y’all. I watched my first lakorn, and let me tell you, I had a fucking fantastic time doing it. Now that’s not a blanket endorsement of the genre, because I understand Khun Chai aka To Sir, With Love is pretty unique, particularly in that it’s a period queer love story with a happy ending. But as a different kind of Thai drama than any I’d previously seen, it was truly a great watch.

It has some flaws, sure. It’s a soap opera, so melodrama, repetitive story beats, overdramatic acting, and slow pacing are par for the course. If you go in understanding that, you’ll be fine. And the episodes are long af but don’t be shy about increasing the playback speed - I watched a lot of it at 1.5x and it was perfectly smooth. Now that I’ve finished it, I think the time investment was totally worth it (@bengiyo my final rec - worth going back to finish! It worked better for me when I broke it up in chunks of 2-3 episodes at a time).

Without further ado, the top ten reasons I loved it:

1. TIAN MY BELOVED

Look at him. Just look at his beautiful traumatized face!! I hold that it’s impossible to watch this entire show and not come out absolutely loving this man. He is so believably flawed but at his core he is good. He is generous. He is loyal. He is brave. And he looks very good in a three piece suit.

Honestly I could do a whole top ten list just about Tian but let’s move on and give some love to the rest of the show.

2. Did I mention this is a PERIOD ROMANCE??!! Something we get so precious little of in bl. I asked @absolutebl a while back if they knew of any other Thai period bls, and this was the entire list. So good thing it’s excellent!

The show is set in the 1930s and 40s in Japanese-occupied Thailand, and it centers on a powerful Thai-Chinese family (currently leading a cooperative partnership of five families) and the power struggle over who will be the heir (Succession, but make it Asian and queer). The show digs into really interesting family structure, politics, and class struggle stuff.

3. The brotherly bond is unmatched and undefeated. The plot centers on two brothers, Tian and Yang, who love each other so much, like I cannot emphasize enough how willing these brothers are to protect and die for each other. If someone was shooting at them they would both try to dive in front of the bullet. Their bond is so touching and provides an emotional through line when the plot gets wacky.

4. The classic soap opera plots are truly brilliant, all your favorite tropes are here. This show has everything - family secrets, nefarious schemes, murderous maids, mystical poisons, faen fatales, even sex pollen! As I believe @ginnymoonbeam put it at one point - everything is happening so much all the time. It’s truly a delightful romp, especially after the halfway point when the plot machinations really kick into high gear.

5. The queer love story is the main romance and emotional heart of the show. There are actually two romances in this show - each of the brothers gets a love interest. And both of them are lovely. But rather than the typical move where a het drama features a queer side pairing, here the entire story is driven by Tian’s sexual identity, the burden placed on him to keep it a secret, and how increasingly impossible that becomes once he meets Jiu. Over the course of this show, we get to watch Tian fall in love and finally live his truth and see how that changes him. It’s truly beautiful, and the romance between Tian and Jiu is so sweet (and a bit racier than I expected - the show does not shy away from the sexual aspect of this relationship). The romance between Yang and Pin is also very sweet - they are adorable tbh - but entirely secondary.

6. Every frame of this show is absolutely gorgeous. The scenery is lush, the costumes are beautiful, the tailoring is impeccable, the hair and makeup never misses. It’s truly a feast for the eyes.

7. There are so many good female characters in this show, y’all! Tian and Yang have not one but 4 or 5 different mother figures. They are all flawed, complex, and a little nuts. They get up to so much trouble and drive a lot of the plot with their scheming, hijinks, and prolific wielding of murderous sparkle dust (don’t ask, you have to see it to understand). Pin, Tian’s would be fiancé turned sister-in-law, is a total sweetheart, but she’s also smart and fierce with a steel core and not afraid to tell her man when he’s being stupid. There’s even a lady boss at the head of one of the five families.

8. Relatedly, there is so much complex family drama in this show, and so many interesting dysfunctional parental relationships. @waitmyturtles you will have a field day when you finally get to watch this. Both brothers have fraught relationships with their various parent figures, for very different reasons. The various relationships and resentments that form between the wives and the sons in a polygamous family unit (did I mention that yet? there are three wives in the mix here and the brothers have different biological moms) are absolutely fascinating.

9. The resolution to the succession plot and ultimate defeat of the Big Bad was so satisfying. I won’t get into spoiler territory, but let me just say that the characters went through a lot together and to see the way they ultimately had to come together and let go of their baggage to survive was very cool. It felt earned.

10. IT ENDS WITH A BIG OLD HEAP OF GAY DOMESTIC BLISS!!! I will get into spoiler territory here because you deserve to know that if you put in the time to watch this show you will be rewarded with a very happy couple forming a family unit and living peacefully on their own terms. I was so pleased with this ending, I can’t even tell you. The final scenes made me cry real tears, I was so touched. And they even put a literal rainbow in the sky at the end. A literal rainbow! Come on!

Watch it, friends! It’s worth your time.

[heretherebedork]

of like, the BL/GL shows airing right now which ones would you recommend to someone trying to get into the genre if that makes sense (feel free to ignore if this is a weird question)

The ones airing right now for someone entering the fandom...

My Love Mix Up Thai Version is absolutely a grand beginner's BL, sweet and cute and not moving too slowly and not getting bogged down and Fourth and Gemini are both good actors. Would recommend.

I'd go back a week and recommend We Are just for funsies as well.

Both Takara's Treasure and I Hear the Sunspot are Japan being Japan and I'd do either one in a heartbreat. I Hear The Sunspot is a lot deeper and dealing with a lot of non-BL issues while Takara's Treasure really is about what it means to realize you have feelings for someone just... ever. Very much adorable.

I'd also add The Rebound to this, it's a very interesting take of a sports BL with a love triangle and mafia stuff and variable tone but, like, that;s BL for you frankly.

Not much else airing right now, not yet. I do find it hard to recommend shows without knowing the ending but these are the ones I'm thinking have a good chance of ending well regardless.

(Meet You at the Blossom might also go onto this list but I have to see how it ends before I recommend it to anyone. Same with Century of Love, though Century of Love is much more lakorn than BL and is mixing soap opera with The Gay so that might work depending on what genre you're coming from...)

I think those are the best ones. Sunset X Vibes is a maaaybe but the fantasy elements coming into play and the fact that I'm way more into the side couple is putting me off from recommending it for a newbie, same with the levels of manipulation and lying in This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans.

But, honestly, any show is a good show for a newbie if the show appeals to you. Watch what sounds good. Starting with the most popular stuff would have kicked me right out of the fandom since that would have been Tharntype and 2gether at the time I started which were both BLs I barely made it through and didn't enjoy. So... watch what appeals to you.

[clairedaring]

WEEEEEE ANOTHER LETTER FROM ME!

Don't worry it's not a long inbox essay ahahahha!

I've been trying to watch the horror stuff you recommended (been in a mood), but I couldn't find them on my usual pirate sites. I was wondering:

where do you usually watch your lakhorn and movies, if it's not on Netflix?

Also: I'm still trying to find the damn time to write those สาธุ rambles. It's just that I also have some goddamn manga ramble clogging up my neural network... and other pretty important not-my-day-job-kinda-work. My break is gonna end soon and I still haven't fucking done half the things I wanna do!

P.S. Luckily, I have Terror Tuesday for now, bwahahaahaha!

Hi Lyn! (❁´◡`❁)

For older Thai horror films, I have very fortunately been able to find them with Vietnamese subtitles on a plethora of different pirate sites (I guess the Vietnamese audience really enjoys Thai horror, they have subtitled basically every Thai horror film in existence).

But here are some grey-watching links to the horror stuff I've recommended, other than the ones available on Netflix (Girl From Nowhere, Terror Tuesday...). For grey watching sites, I'd say the best chances to find Thai series/films are KissKH, Dramacool, occasional Dailymotion, Bilibili.

After Dark (this one is officially available on WeTV)

Angkhan Khlumpong The Series

Hoon Payon

Sick Nurses (raw, no engsub)

Malila: The Farewell Flower

But other than the horror stuff I've recommended, for Thai lakorns in general, they're often available on platforms like Netflix, iQIYI, WeTV, Gagaoolala with subs provided so I would say these are the main "official platforms" I watch them on. The pirate site I use most often is KissKH.

Honestly it's sad that most older lakorns/Thai films are often not subtitled since there's such a niche audience for them so I'm always grateful to fansubbers in this day and age.

Very much looking forward to your สาธุ rambles once you've got time to write them. I hope you're able to watch stuff you've planned on before your break ends \(￣︶￣*\))

[thaimedia]

Info:

blog for Thai movies, dramas, lakorns, celebrities, music videos, etc.

original posts are tagged under #thaimediatag. reblogs are tagged under #reblog. 

i don’t have a tracking tag. i encourage everyone to track and search for content in #thaidramaedit, #lakornedit, #lakornsource, #thaidrama, #lakornet, #asianlgbtqdramas and #asianlgbtqdrama instead since these are well known tags used by gifmakers. :)

i don’t speak thai nor am i an expert on thai media and culture. this blog is merely an appreciation for content i’ve come across.

i don’t take requests but i’m always looking for recommendations. send me stuff you enjoy!

Quick links: 

media tag masterpost (mobile access go here, web view go here)

answered asks (if i ever get any lol)

[gunsatthaphan]

✌🏻✨ ~ 2023 wrap-up ~ ✨✌🏻

another year gone, another post no one asked for djkghdf

I normally don't talk about personal stuff on here but like in the previous year I wanted do a little recap and give shoutouts to some lovely people 🧡

It hasn't been an easy year for me, I started a new job which has been stressful and annihilated my work-life balance which resulted in me being sick a lot & just being stressed for most of the year lol. I barely found time to maintain this blog which may not seem like it on the outside since I somehow managed to frequently post but it's been difficult. I know I don't have to be online 24/7 but the fear of slipping into irrelevancy due to lack of content remains. I didn't have much time to watch bls & asian shows in general which I still consider my safe space and escapism so I'm resentful that I didn't get to fully take in and enjoy the things I'm passionate about and make content about them like I did in the previous years. That being said thank god for all the weekend shows that I did manage to watch and fully focus on like Only Friends and now Cooking Crush and Cherry Magic. Those have been life savers lol and also thank god for all the talented creators who gave us tons of content; I will mention some of them below.

But aside from my personal schedule and despite not watching a lot of stuff, I still tried to keep an eye on what's going on in the BL world for my monthly breakdowns, which I still enjoy making and I will likely continue them in 2024. I also came to the conclusion that 2023 ended up being another rendition of quantity > quality in the BL-verse so not much has changed lol - not that I expected it to. We got a wild and extended mix of different genres and subgenres this year which was nice to see. We saw companies & actors experimenting a lot (with varying results), we got new ships, new fandoms and new enemies, as well as a variety of comebacks and retirements. My watchlist this year was limited to Thai BLs and my blog mostly consisted of gmmtv related content and like I said, if I had had more time I probably would have explored more different shows - but I eventually resorted to what's familiar. I guess I needed an anchor in midst of all my personal chaos lol.

But despite my short list, there were a few gems that I enjoyed. The big ones like Only Friends, Moonlight Chicken, Be My Favorite, etc., and the small, less popular ones like Be Mine Superstar, Mission Fan Possible and a few more. I enjoyed talking to friends & making content about them in the limited timeframes I had. My opinions mostly matched those of the general public but unfortunately there were a few disappointments that were bathing in a success that I could not wrap my head around - Dangerous Romance and A Boss and a Babe being at the top of that list, followed by La Pluie and also a few of the lakorns I watched. But anyway.

Anyone who knows me knows my blog has been 83% FirstKhao this year lmao, they're my favorite people in this industry and watching them act, interact & making content about them has been one of my highlights. I'm excited to see what 2024 brings for them and even if it's not a series, I'm looking forward to seeing what else they will be up to 🥺 🐈‍⬛ 🐈

I'm going into 2024 with mixed feelings but above all I hope I will get the chance to expand my watchlist a little. I will post a personal top10 of the shows I watched this year shortly; until then I want to talk a bit about some lovely people this year - I’m not good with words lmao but thank you for being you and making this hellsite a better place 🥹 lol.

@leonpob - bestie!!! 🧡 our BL opinions have drifted apart this year lmao but who's to say friendships are solely based on mutual opinions. You're the best, stay the way you are and here's to another year of sharing thoughts and hopefully finding more shows to watch together (no matter if trash or not lol) 😉😘  @mayalunas - ahhhh I loved talking to you sooo so much this year, we agree on so many things that I'm convinced we share the same BL braincells lmao. You're one of my favorite people on this website, thank you for being such a good listener and a positive & supportive person to talk to 🥺 I hope you have the best 2024!!! ily!!! 🧡 @khunvegas - GURL idk where you went this year or if you still exist sdjkds but just know I haven't forgotten about you and I miss our talks 🥺 come back pls thank. @my-wandering-rabbit - I love our random out-of-context talks once a month lmao, I appreciate you and I hope we will continue our ritual of me watching shows and you asking me questions without watching them kjsdhg @bl-recs-and-reviews - Bestie!!! I love our catch-ups on Discord, you were one of the first people I ever talked to like 4 years ago? crazy. look at us. I still love you, you're the sweetest and I love talking to you 🧡🥺 @dreamedofyou - ahh I absolutely love your blog!!! I noticed you a lot in my notifications this year so I wanted to say thank you so much for interacting with my unhinged content (mostly FK related lmao) - We haven't talked a ton but I think of you as a very nice person and I hope we can talk more next year 🥹🫶🏻

and then of course some more shoutouts go out to all the wonderful and talented creators out there; I will never be able to tag all of you so sorry in advance but here are a few that I appreciate, some of which have also mentioned me in their wrap-up posts so thank you for that!!!

@taeminie @seatawinan @loveisactivated @forcebook @jimmysea @guzhu-furen @daymork @itsallaboutbl @seatawinans @blneobin @blmpfff @wanderlust-in-my-soul @pranpat @milkpansa @raypakorn @ahxu-laowen @forcebookish @forcebookcorner @morkofday @chinzillas @seajimmy @dimpledpran @i-got-the-feels @bengiyo @benkaaoi @25shadesoffebruary @moonkhao @smittenskitten @respectthepetty @earthfluuke @pharawee @khaotunq @khaotunqs @pranink @gabrielokun @piningintrovert @zhaozi @markpakin @firstkanaphans @firstforkhao @khaotungsfirst @wen-kexing-apologist @firstkpp @firstmix @bunnakit @khaothanawat @alienwlw @ffirstkhao (I can't tag the last 4 for some reason..)

have the best 2024!!!

🧡🧡🧡

[sailorjisunq]

ป่าน

[dropthedemiurge]

Guide of my creations

For all the new people stumbling upon my blog – I know it's very confusing, but I do have some art and fanfics and indie games and other stuff. I finally got around to collect all the links and tags here, thank you for the pressure xD

Feel free to interact even with old stuff and send me asks about anything, even if you just want to chat or discuss new thai lakorn.

Welcome, take some pizza and roam around!

ART COMMISSIONS POST [currently open, DM for more]

ART TAGS:

#my works — everything from art to animations to flash games to random edits etc

#dropthefanart – my fanart (2021-present, mostly Thai BL series + K-pop)

#phanart — Dan and Phil fanart (also animations and flash games)

#supernatural — Supernatural fanart (quite old tho xD)

#dropthegame — my future visual novels (I'll update other games to this tag later)

#dropthemeta — some of my meta posts for Thai BL series

FANFICS:

#dropthefanfic — my recent fanfics (also mostly Thai BLs)

(AO3) Birds On Concrete Wall (Thai BLs and my passionate practice of writing in English)

(AO3) AmetistLex (K-pop, iKON, I have a huge desire to delete it all but for now it's there)

Ficbook (Fanfics in russian + Bad Buddy novel translation)

OTHER:

Love for Love's Sake translation+culture details+meta

Time of Fever recap (Unintentional Love Story spinoff spoilers)

My social media (iKON, phanart, album designs, AR apps, IG masks and filters, vlogs and my other creative projects)

My website with cool projects I made inspired by K-pop group iKON (and their approval :3)

List with my plans and ideas (messy)

[kattahj]

More Asian QL reviews! Mostly Thai boys as usual, but a Japanese GL at the end!

KinnPorsche

What's it about? Kinn is the son of a mafia boss. Porsche is a bartender who happens to help him out once, and is then coerced into becoming his bodyguard.

Genre: Mafia action, possibly comedy?

Watch if you enjoy: Mafia tropes. High heat. Belligerent sexual tension that turns increasingly playful with time. Having a very hard time deciding what is or what is not meant to be funny. (I have a feeling some of the stuff I found funny wasn't meant to be.) Emotionally repressed vs emotionally oversharing teenage side couple, with love songs. Kinky dom/sub human pet sidecouple #2. Flamboyant drama queen with mental health issues who may be the most sensible of the bunch. Plot that is all over the place even when it isn't twisty (which it is quite often).

Gayer version of: your local kink club's Bugsy Malone theme night

Recommended? Hm. Yes for its influence, no for actual quality, but yes again if you just want some fun mafia hijinks without having to think or feel too much. And it never gets QUITE as bad again as the first five minutes. In some ways it's the worst of the QLs I've watched so far, but it's more entertaining and memorable than several of them. And ironically, it's one of the shows I've found myself writing fic for.

Watched on: Dailymotion

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZvpNreGVOc

Laws of Attraction

What's it about? Tinn's beloved niece is hit by a car belonging to the son of senator Thatthep. Opportunistic lawyer Chan first works for Thatthep, but soon finds himself asking questions that puts him at odds with the senator. Despite their different outlooks on life, Tinn and Chan may have a common goal.

Genre: lakorn (Thai soap opera), action, drama

Watch if you enjoy: High suspense. Morally grey protagonist. Warm and righteous other protagonist. Changing your mind completely about at least one character. Having your heart broken and then laughing your ass off within a span of ten minutes. Lots of gay side characters, including a pair of badass lesbians. Best grandma currently on TV. Great emotional content. A few laughably bad action scenes and VFX.

Gayer version of: The Pelican Brief

Recommended? Yes! I watched it as it aired and could barely stand waiting for a week between episodes! Just make sure you can cope with dead child, dead dog, dead mom, and parental abuse.

Watched on: bilibili.tv, but it is also up on youtube. (It just didn't add subtitles fast enough for me.)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wo7IKw9dWY

La Pluie

What's it about? A world in which, during the rain, certain people can hear the voice of their soulmate – and ONLY that. But is the soulmate thing really real, or just a way to explain an inexplicable phenomenon?

Genre: Romcom/drama

Watch if you enjoy: Nice people solving their problems nicely and with very little unnecessary drama. Subversion of both soulmate and BL tropes (though ultimately bending to the foregone conclusion). Loving families. Understanding exes. Sometimes a cat.

Gayer version of: I want to say TiMER (2009), but that film was a whole lot messier. This is sweet.

Recommended? Kind of? I think it's well done for what it is, but that twelve hours of low-stakes relationship drama, where every crisis is averted, was a bit long for me personally. Plus, it turns out that I don't like soulmates even when they're being turned upside down and shaken around. But if the premise seems like something up your alley, I thoroughly recommend it!

Watched on: Dailymotion

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz9HG8MGF8M

To Sir, With Love / Khun Chai

What's it about? It's the 1940s, and Thailand is at war. Mr. Song, the wealthy but elderly leader of the Five Dragons association, has two sons with two different wives. Yang is the cheeky rascal, Tian is the obedient and hardworking one. Tian, as the eldest, is set to take over business, and all would be well if not for one little secret: he is gay. If this becomes publicly known, it could ruin the reputation of the whole family.

Genre: soap opera

Watch if you enjoy: More JamFilm after Laws of Attraction, with Film in a radically different role. Brothers supporting each other. Overcoming homophobic surroundings. Rivalling soap queens who will literally walk over corpses for power – and supposedly for their sons, who want none of it. Magic murder mushrooms and other glittery potions. Obedient business heir vs. taciturn assassin gay romance. Feisty het side romance with a lady love who is so sweet and soft spoken that you underestimate what an absolute MVP she is. Acting that ranges from fantastic to terrible. (Looking at you, Nuan!) Absolutely stunning costumes.

Gayer version of: Dynasty, but also I Claudius (what with all the murder).

Recommended? Ye-es? It's more soap opera than BL, so keep that in mind. And there's a lot of Rich People Bullshit. But if you're okay with that, I do recommend it! It ate my brain for several weeks, after all. And if you liked Laws of Attraction, you absolutely MUST see at least a couple of episodes, to experience the whiplash of the difference between Film's roles in those two shows.

Watched on: YouTube

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3goS7DVeto

Gay OK Bangkok (Seasons 1 and 2)

What's it about? A bunch of friends, boyfriends, hookups and acquaintances, and how they handle their relationships and life's other issues.

Genre: slice of life

Watch if you enjoy: People who feel like actual people. Down to earth relationship drama that doesn't necessarily end well for everyone. Compassion towards the characters even if they're sometimes being dicks. Multiple PSAs about HIV prevention. A relatively short run. (Season 1 is 5x30 minutes, season 2 7x45.)

Gayer version of: Oddly enough, I want to say 90s Degrassi. (The fact that Degrassi was the first show I ever saw that handled HIV may have something to do with it.)

Recommended? Yes! Season 1 is absolutely brilliant, and only some technical issues (soundmix, lack of subtitles for written info) kept me from putting it among my absolute favourites. Season 2 has more and longer episodes but less of a red thread, which means that while all the individual scenes are still well written and well acting, the first half in particular feels a little aimless. But it comes back swinging in the last few eps, and I have also seen viewers who preferred season 2 over season 1!

Watched on: YouTube

Trailer (sorry about the double subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3CJ9PiSSR0

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna / She loves to cook, she loves to eat

What's it about? Nomoto's hobby is cooking, but she lives alone and always ends up making too much food. One day, she notices how much food her neighbour Kasuga brings home and gets an idea: maybe Kasuga would like to eat some of what she cooks!

Genre: romcom

Watch if you enjoy: Sweet, understated, tentative romance. Lots and LOTS of cooking/eating scenes. (Don't watch while hungry! Do watch to get kitchen inspiration, if you are so inclined!) Lesbian self-discovery. Lots of serious issues in a fluffy setting: class, misogyny, heteronormativity, fat shaming, family hierarchies, and more.

Gayer version of: Julie and Julia

Recommended? Yes! It's very sympathetic and not very long (10 episodes of 15 minutes). The ending is a little unresolved, but fortunately there's a second season promised for 2024.

Between this and Old Fashion Cupcake, I do wonder if all Japanese QLs double as food porn...

Watched on: Dailymotion

Trailer (no subtitles): https://mubi.com/en/films/she-loves-to-cook-and-she-loves-to-eat/trailer

[absolutebl]

Hey Abl, trust you are well. So I took a month off bl to deal with life stuff and upon my return there's a lot of new shows and I'm feeling overwhelmed and need to prioritize. What should I start with that started airing in late October/November? Spanx!

BL Quick Picks - End of 2023 Releases

That finished its run? Sorry I don't keep that close track of things ending but stuff I loved that ended relatively recently as follows. (I'm giving you a range of styles to suit your mood.)

Felling light and fluffy?

Jun & Jun

(Korea Viki)

A delightful office romance about an ex-idol who joins cubical life only to find his new boss is his first love. Others boys are sniffing around too. Operative word being "sniffing" as much of this romance involves smell. With a snappy (sometimes even raunchy) script, enjoyable sides, a pretty as peaches cast, and descent chemistry this show made up for in style what it lacked in substance. I like fluff. I loved this. I smiled every moment I was watching. With tons of rewatch potential (especially the last few eps), my only caution is this is for fans of the BL genre only, I don’t think it’ll work for anyone else. 9/10

Feeling complex and drama llama?

I Feel You Linger in the Air

(Thailand grey, YT for some)

I truly loved this time travel romance. IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn (but no as much as To Sir With Love and with way less scenery chewing). This is an elegant and classy BL… from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t good either. This show should easily have earned a 10 from me except that it fumbled the… erm… balls. Argh. Whatever. 9/10

Feeling odd and chaotic?

Why R U?

(Korea iQIYI)

Korea decided to remake, of all possible Thai BLs, Why RU? And that is exactly what we got: a short form, clean & pretty, slightly confusing, uneven chemistry, all the same tropes KBL that kind of cliff-noted the original but with none of the heat or complex relationship dynamics. I just … what world is this? Because it is BOTH bizarro land, and EXACTLY what I expected. How do I rate it? In the end I have to go back to simple questions: did I like it, would I rewatch it, and would I recommend it? Yes. Probably. And probably not. What the actual hell? 8/10

Feeling dark and complex?

Tokyo in April is AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

(Japan Viki)

Two young men with a shared tragic past reunite and fall in love all over again, but the past will not stop hunting them. Based on a manga, this office set reunion romance is GREAT… damn it. It’s Japan in full on soft focus which means it gets emo, abusive, and chewy. These two characters are giving parts of their souls away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other. Japan gave us the Bed Friends that Thailand could never even imagine. But here’s the thing: I don’t enjoy my BL this heavy and cutting. I know that for The 8th Sense crowd this is peak BL and I can’t argue with the fact that the romantic devotion, domesticity, script, and acting IS all on point. It’s just not my personal preference for that point to be so damn sharp. I appreciate that this being 2023 I have the luxury of consistent quality (especially from Japan) and thus the ability to say… I acknowledge that this SHOULD get a 9/10 but I can’t emotionally go higher than 8/10

Feeling sappy and in need of comfort?

Stay By My Side

(Taiwan Viki)

This show was an interesting take on the "ghost boyfriend" trope. About a boy who is tormented by hearing the dead, except when he is around one other boy - desperation+proximity = love. Unfortunately, the story was erratic and waffled about. While the leads turned in solid performances and the sappy domesticity was off the charts, it never really had the strength of the narrative convictions such a strong concept should have supplied. Highly rewatchable and enjoyable for that sappy domesticity but not a whole lot more. Still I always give extra credit for the diabetes-inducing sugar content and rewatch capacity. 8/10 

Feeling sexy?

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho

(Japan Gaga)

I liked it a lot and it's classic yaoi of the kind that really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. It's higher heat from Japan and well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" trope which is only exacerbated into undiluted frustration by the fact that they're already fucking. It's good, but watching requires more patience than usual, even from Japan. 8/10

Feeling sweet and earnest?

Sing My Crush

(Korea iQIYI)

This a cute coming of age drama around music and 2 kinds of self acceptance and actualization journeys. This was basically Korea’s version of About Youth, and was perhaps a bit too soft and ungrounded by comparison, like a marshmallow sculpture. Sweet but somewhat lacking in discernible flavor. 8/10

If you want to know what I'm enjoying that's airing right now, I'm mot yet caught up this week but I have time today so the weekly ranking will drop in a few hours. But I can tell you with confidence that very little is likely to unseat...

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thailand iQiyi)

from my affections right now. I love it unconditionally and it's airing on iQIYI.

[pandasmagorica]

Intro/tracking post

Last updated September 13, 2024.

Older queer white cis dude in California, pronoun he.

Love music.

Enjoy QL, mostly Thai, mostly series.

Here to read and comment on posts. Lack of posting does not represent non-engagment with a series. Reblogging represents engagement, not (necessarily) agreement with a post. Non-reblogging may (or may not) reflect an accessibility issue with the original post or that there is some other reason I don't want it on my blog (even if I like or agree with it).

If a series puts me off in the first episode, I will often abandon it, sometimes within the first few minutes. I'm less likely to abandon midway. If I'm considering abandoning a series I've otherwise liked up to that point, I'll often read the reviews on MDL or look up posts on the series, at risk of getting spoilers, to decide whether to go on with it (and it's gone both ways).

Not a fan of spoilers, but recognize it as a risk of engaging so I don't (usually) spoiler-shame. Please don't put them in comments to me, if you would be so kind.

Okay with sad endings if they're earned or otherwise inevitable.

Incomplete watchlist (which I will update from time to time):

Top Shows (in order as best I can, ask me on another day and stuff might move):

Until We Meet Again and everything I like better than Until We Meet Again. Expands as needed.

Not Me (best QL series ever for plot, acting, cinematography, and music, content warning for violence) (1 re-watch)

Bad Buddy (lots of fun, new discoveries on every re-watch) (3 re-watches)

Knock Knock Boys (episode 1 notes with mature content) (episode 3-6 notes without) (sex positive romantic comedy)

He's Coming to Me (heartwarming, delightful coming-of-age work. I didn't care for the library raid part and skipped it once on rewatch and there seemed to me to be some inconsistencies with the ghost rules.) (3 re-watches)

Cherry Magic (Japanese version, delightful, looking forward to the Thai remake if they ever settle the rights issues)

To Sir With Love (could get me to try lakorns)

Semantic Error (enemies to lovers comedy that hits all the right notes)

A Tale of a Thousand Stars (fine series, not sure why I haven't rewatched it, need to rewatch after Our Skyy 2)

55:15 Never Too Late (not QL but has a QL subplot, notable for having an older semi-out gay character) (1 re-watch)

Gaya Sa Pelicula (Like in the Movies) (odd couple thrown together, fall in love, hit limits

Eternal Yesterday (re-watch episode notes) (not usually into high school QL but the plot got me and it blew me away, achingly sad throughout) (1 re-watch)

Until We Meet Again (fine contrast between the ghosts of the past and the world of today, deep story, but has a few problematic scenes that I cringe at, theme music got repetitive; content warning for suicide) (2 or 3 re-watches)

Much as I love them, I don't automatically recommend every one of them to everyone. The right rec for the right person!

In progress

The Eighth Sense (on possible hold as I consider a trope I don't love)

Cherry Magic (Thai) (on apparently long-term hold pending rights issues)

I Promised You the Moon (but not actively watching)

Considering

Okay, this is a really long list and I'm probably not going to watch all of them, but a fan's gotta dream, right?

Although I Love You, and You?

Boys Be Brave

Century of Love

Ex-Morning

Happenstance

The Heart Killers

Leap Day

Living With Him

Mama Gogo

Meet You at the Blossom

Midnight Motel

My Strawberry Film

Old Fashioned Cupcake

Oh! Boarding House

1000 Years Old

The Player

The Rebound

Revamp

Shadow (although probably not)

Stay Still

The Spirealm (this ones an unlikely stretch - censored and 38 x 45 minutes equals over 28 hours)

ThamePo

Tokyo in April Is...

25:00 in Akasaka

Unknown (to binge)

Us

First episode watched but not committed to

Our Dining Table

Also Completed:

A Cut Above (in alphabetical order):

Near misses for my top list, bubbling under that line. Highly recommended.

Anti-Reset (episode notes) (speculative fiction on the future of AI, in a robot and a human who fall in love, quite emotional)

Century of Love (episode notes) (a 120-year-old man learns to let go of the past and find his future with a young man he meets by chance who might be that loved one from the past after all, content warning for violence)

Formula 17 (campy and fun) (2 or 3 rewatches)

4 Minutes (review) (avant-garde metaphysical exploration of regret and renewal)

History 3: Trapped (very funny and enjoyable

I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama (feel-good comedy)

The Great Doctor (episode notes) (not QL) (medical/historical/time travel mashup, content warning for violence and gory medical stuff)

Kiseki: Dear to Me (watch notes) (top notch crime drama with a lot of humor - content warning for violence - includes an older gay couple) (1 rewatch)

Lovely Writer (very meta about the QL industry and quite funny)

The Miracle of Teddy Bear (episode notes) (magical and bittersweet; includes an elderly gay couple)

Moonlight Chicken (touching and fun)

Once Again (touching time travel, sad throughout) (1 rewatch)

180 Degrees Longitude Passes Through Us (intelligent and a good watch, melancholy, feels very much like a stage play)

The Sign (deeply flawed but wild and enthralling deep dive into northeastern Thai mythology disguised as a cop series - content warning for violence - yeah, it's a mess but it's a glorious mess)

10 Years Ticket (episode notes) (crime drama about two warring families, bittersweet ending - not QL, but there's a QL subplot)

3 Will Be Free (review link) (wild ride with great twists, content warning for violence, yeah I'd call it QL)

Unknown (review link) (found family, found love - content warning for violence, unrelated "brothers")

The Warp Effect (not QL, but some queer characters)

and a fanfic:

What's in Your Head (Bad Buddy zombie fic) (content warning for violence, requires AO3 login)

Others I enjoyed (in alpha order):

I enjoyed these enough to be happy I watched them, but not enough to consider them classics and in no danger of breaching my top 10.

Be My Favorite (fun time-travel fantasy with a strong political viewpoint and good twists, one of the mains is a bit hard to take)

Bed Friend (not sure enjoyed is the right word, has some triggers, but worth seeing, loved the cat role-play)

Bite Fight (so bad it's good; horror comedy)

The Boy Foretold By the Stars (fun, sweet comedy)

Choco Milkshake (fun, touching pet fantasy)

Cupid's Last Wish (fun body-swap plot, insane amount of food and landscape porn, rural settings, content warning for gross cow veterinary scene)

Dark Blue Kiss (pretty good, creepy interloper)

Dear Tenant (enjoyed isn't the right word, and had to pause and walk away from it partway for a major cry, but an excellent film)

DNA Says I Love You (review link) (sweet, sad, interesting gender minority rep)

The End of the World With You (mix of SF and fantasy, good story and relationships)

Eternal Summer (Taiwanese film about youth discovering their identity - bisexual love triangle - well done if a bit melancholy)

First Love Again (A slave and a woman in Goreyo fall in love, but the slave is killed for it. Two reincarnations later, they are two men in modern-day Seoul. Oh, and there's a spirit who used to be a cat guiding the former slave through his wish to be loved. Good balance between romantic comedy and drama.)

Ghost Host, Ghost House (nice supernatural treatment)

Gift Shop for People You Hate (not QL but has two minor gay characters making guest appearances, one evil and one harmless) (horror, with a very dark sense of humor) (this one doesn't show an English title on YouTube, but if you search YouTube under that name you'll find it) (1 rewatch)

Jack O'Frost (melancholy and sweet)

The Man Who Defies the World of BL (very funny after watching several series and becoming aware of the tropes)

The Man Who Defies the World of BL season 2 (okay, maybe a joke can go on long enough)

Me, My Husband and My Husband's Boyfriend (bittersweet poly-ish story)

Midnight Museum (not QL but has a major bromance that could go full QL if there's ever a sequel) (a mess, but a glorious mess)

Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss (quite enjoyable)

My Ride (enjoyable comedy with dramatic moments - includes an older gay couple)

Naked Dining (good fun, lots of misunderstandings and food porn)

Neverland (web series from India, well done and too brief)

Our Dating Sim (fun series about the courage to correct your mistakes from the past, set in the video game workplace - a few cringe moments, but generally a very kind series)

Rainbow Prince (campy and fun, not enough songs for something that's supposed to be a musical, you have to be okay with cheesy)

Rak Diao (funny, very silly, very sitcom, although the harassment jokes got old fast and didn't stop)

Sleep With Me (review link) (sweet lesbian romance, kinda slow for such short episodes, great disability rep)

Something in My Room (the abridged-episode version) (good, not great, ghost story)

Stay By My Side (review link) (fun ghost story version of Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss)

Tale of the Lost Boys (movie) (friendship story between a visiting straight Filipino and a gay Taiwanese aboriginal in Taiwan, heartwarming story)

Tinted with You (a way too short, fun time travel fantasy involving a painting and a mystical art lover that bring an art student together with an ancient deposed prince)

Twilight Kiss aka Suk Suk (fine, bittersweet Hong Kong film about an affair between two older heterosexually married men who are actually closeted gay men)

Twins (Thai pulp, fun, not too deep, some poop humor)

Wandee Goodday (a smart, sex-positive comedy with some missteps)

Your Name Engraved Herein (not sure enjoyed is the right word but it's fine work)

Zero Photography (from Magic of Zero) (most entertaining product promotion vehicle I've seen in QL, even better than Pran & Pat's product placements in Bad Buddy)

Torn about:

These all had some kind of major issue that prevents me from recommending them.

Fish Upon the Sky (appalled at the racism/punch-down humor in episode 4, otherwise loved its play with form)

Last Twilight (entrancing series, but the characters didn't grow, the ending was poorly set up - needed a few more episodes - and it ultimately fumbled on disability rep)

Mr. Cinderella (nearly abandoned this one because of a supporting toxic character, but kept with it after reading a post about the traditional Vietnamese story it was tracking)

Secret Crush on You (cringed for the first half, considered dropping it, read the defense by trans reviewers, watched the rest, and suddenly it got really good)

Together With Me (mix of great content and really problematic content)

Lukewarm:

I'm more glad than not that I watched these but in retrospect would have been okay if I had missed them:

Bagan Beginning (Not-bad early Myanmar foray into QL, lots of food and antiquity porn, content warning for violence in the last episode)

Color Rush (interesting concept, just okay)

Enchanté (not as bad as people say it is, but also just okay)

Gay OK Bangkok and Gay OK Bangkok 2 (definitely gay and, er, okay)

Nitiman (okay enough)

Only Friends (episode notes) (a sex farce with too much toxic behavior for my taste and a last episode choice that left a bad taste in my mouth)

Our Skyy 2 Bad Buddy x Thousand Stars (counting the four episodes as one series even though they have different names, didn't love this but didn't hate it either, very pale compared to the original two separate series)

Our Skyy 2 Vice Versa (was just okay with a really bad idea at the base of its plot)

Star & Sky: Star in My Mind (not great, not bad)

The Tasty Florida (cute enough, just so-so)

Vice Versa (brief notes) (good concept, product placements became way too intrusive for my full enjoyment)

Ones I wish I could watch:

I only watch legit sources, both so the creators get money for it and to reduce the hacking risks that watching gray presents.

Triage (I don't have a Thai phone number to log in to AISPlay, and even if I did not sure if it would have English subtitles)

Manner of Death (I need a WeTV subscription and will check that out) (thank you to @lurkingteapot for this info)

I Feel You Linger in the Air

Peach of Time (supernatural plot) (supposedly I can watch this on WeTV using VPN but I'm not yet ready to make the leap to VPN)

Series I abandoned:

23.5, despite my pledge to watch it, very late (episode 11, mid-part-2/4) because of what I call the punching bag trope that just showed up

Accomplishment of Fundoshi Bartender (episode 2 when he screamed offstage about not dating married men - I know this series isn't intended to be realistic but I still need the other characters to react to his behavior - this series has gotten entirely too silly for me)

Candy Colored Paradox (bored by episode 2 or 3)

Cooking Crush (a few minutes into episode 1 [2/4] as it is getting way too silly for me, plus we're going to have to put up with hazing/bullying as comedy - at least they had some new sound effects)

Cutie Pie (hated the infantilizing, left by episode 3 or 4)

I Told Sunset About You (left in episode 1, not loving the high school content)

Love by Chance (had someone fall on top of someone else in the first 30 seconds, left immediately)

Love Stage (apparently without most of the music - I'm guessing there's rights issues - but I abandoned it after 2 episodes because one of the lead's acting felt flat and I didn't enjoy the humor)

Lucky My Love (first segment didn't engage me)

Meow Ears Up (lost interest in the first episode with the fangirls in the store incident)

Monster Next Door (I'm finding the visual effects painful)

My Secret Love (first segment didn't engage me)

One Room Angel (dropped after episode 3 because it's so depressing; open to returning if it cheers up)

Playboyy (a new record - I got scared away by the content warning before the episode even started - however, based on various posts I might reconsider in for a binge watch once it's over)

SOTUS (not a fan of hazing)

Star & Sky: Sky in Your Heart (abandoned around the time of the outhouse incident)

Theory of Love (abandoned when nearly at the beginning Gun's character was crying in the shower)

VIP Only (failed to engage me in the first episode)

Un-favorite tropes:

Falling on someone

Heavy seme/uke dynamic

Northern rural Thai loan sharks

Evil ex

Boss/Employee

Stuff that I've written as opposed to reblogged I've tagged #pandasmagorica so I can find them easier.

[cassandraliepostlimitalt]

if you want fun fluff romance stories (with active even if small fandoms) i could suggest east asian shows. sure a lot of people get hit by cars and get sick by standing 2 mins under the rain but there's a lot of fun and cheesy stuff. be it korean dramas or thai dramas. taiwan & china tend to be more uh tense and dark. japan's a wild card. also lakorn (soap operas) don't often end well and are wild but some are fun! can check mydramalist or tumblr too

Thank you!!! I will definitely check those out, I do hear and see good things about Asian shows and I usually watch with subtitles anyway 😀