#yaoi review

[sincerelyyadere]

Jinx review [no spoilers] 1/10

Sportsman x physicical therapist, no fluff, angst no comfort, hurt no comfort, mma, dom is a dick, enemies to lovers(?), enemies to lovenemies, sport, nsfw, smut

Tw: rape on rape on rape, plot is rape, people fighting and raping basically, nsfw

PLOT ☆☆☆☆☆ STORYTELLING ☆☆☆☆☆ CHARACTERS ★☆☆☆☆

Wow. Just… wow. For something sold so high, all over the pinterest, tiktok and tumblr i didnt expect this manhwa to be so… shitty. I dont even know if it deserves a review, really. I expected another Painter of the Night, and i got something worse than BJ alex. And you know what? THIS SHIT IS WRITTEN BY THE SAME AUTHOR AS BJ ALEX AHAHHAHAHA WHAT THE FUCK.

Lets maybe list the few things in this manhwa that were not fucked up by the author:

- MC is good at his job, and is a pretty likable character that makes sense

- everyone beside ML are likable.

Thats it. Now lets get to the point.

When i was reading the manhwa i almost felt as if i was reading psychological thriller, with the amount of romanicized rape that was happening. And not the cnc shit, i mean full on rape. At some point of the manhwa the author even has the audacity to make the readers get the impression, we should divide the ML from the “bad rapists”, as if he’s any better. I rarely get disgusted reading yaoi or mlm, cause i'm used to authors justifying rape or sexual harassment, but that was just too much. Like, what the fuck, seriously.

The only reason people keep reading enemies to lovers is cause they crave the point when the ML and MC start to understand each other, and they both realised what caused each others' actions.

None of this here. No character growth, no explanation, just the ML being a dick that should be in jail. I dont think theres one positive trait he has, besides being a good mma player. At some point i had to give up reading to the mindless scrolling in hope that at SOME point, the comic will get better.

It didn’t. In every chapter was happening the same thing over and over again, no change, the sex scenes were disgusting, the ml sucked, everything sucked.

And you know what i hate the most? That ML was SUPPOSED to be likable. We were SUPPOSED to feel satisfiad with the bare minimum he was doing like letting a GUY HE WAS RAPING VISIT HIS DYING GRANDMA. Wow, how virtuous. Fuck that guy, lock him in jail.

Dont read this shit. Lenzin, you should be embarrassed.

It's funny how MC is therapist, when, really, ML is the-rapist

[cowboy-robooty]

Robooty Reviews: Killer Crush (10/10) PERSONAL FAVORITE

Professional killer Joo Taeman has found himself completely head over heels with Korea's biggest heart throb actor Kang Da-Hyuk. Not to be confused with the average hobbyist serial killer, Joo Taemin's professional is his legitmate career and he has endured severe training mentally and physically his entire life to be up to the job. But suddenly he finds himself melting from the mere glance at Da-Hyuk's "boy next door" smile! This manhwa is packed to the brim with comedy and cute pannels. IF YOU LIKE ROBOOTY STYLE ITAGER YOU WILL LIKE THIS.

First review eeheehee! And whats more fitting than to continue this draft i made all the way back in March 2023? Dont expect proper summaries for the next ones lol. but ohhhh my god... this one is so good okay. ITS SO FUNNY AND AAUGWHHS ITS LIKE ROBOOTY ITAGER ADJACENT. LIKE FUCKING TRUST ME RN OKAY. THIS READS LIKE AN ITAGER AU TO ME ALRIGHT GUYS ITS NOT FULLY THE SAME OBVIOUSLY BUT IT HAS LIKE... COCAINE. COKE-HYENA! IF YOU LIKE THE SHIT I MAKE YOU WILL MOST DEFINATELY LIKE THIS!!!!!!

The romance is so cute too and ohh my god this art is to die for it's sooooo good.. I wish i drew as good as the author.... IM SO MAD THAT I DONT KNOW HOW TO ORDER THINGS USING A KOREAN WAREHOUSE ADDRESS BECAUSE THERES OFFICIAL PLUSHIES AND I WANTED ONE SOOOO FUCKING BAD AUGH **TEARING GRASS OUT OF THE EARF**

Anyways rn it's on hiatus because season 2 finished and I'm going to cry I need season 3... I wish there was a physical print of this PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE A PHYSICAL PRINT I WILL BUY EVERY SINGLE VOLUME. This is my first post and it's a 10/10 but no seriously guys. I dont give out 10/10s like candy alright. It's that good. This is unironically the only yaoi manga that I would feel comfortable recommending to anyone because its just a genuinely good comic. (It's not my all time favorite yaoi, but it holds second/third place with another manga I'll talk about later).

I love this shit. it's hilarious. I don't laugh often while reading yaoi (such a shame) or well even laugh often while reading manga (I need more comedy in mai life), but this made me laugh a whole lot. So good...... please read this I am begging you

[jun-zzz]

[YAOI] Jun’s Faves: Got You In My Sights

Art&Story: Sakae Mizuki Publisher: ShuCream Official Translation on Renta! Chapters: One-shot (33 pages)

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My review below (each rating out of 5): Art: 🥵🥵🥵 Plot: 😏😏😏😏 Character Development: 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

I’m unsure if I’ll regret this decision to post about Got You In My Sights as my first entry in my “Yaoi Favorites”, but I've yet to compile my thoughts about Eiji Nagisa’s Kabukicho Bad Trip, so I’ll save that post for a later time.

I wanted to write about this one-shot because it’s one of the better yaoi one-shots I’ve read in a while. To preface, the tags on Renta for this one are: college, dark, oneshot. There are a few other “dark”-categorized yaoi on Renta but sometimes the yaoi under that category is a toss-up whether you’re gonna get a thriller or just one with ... uh, slavery. Anyway. I am a fan of the former. I like thrillers. In Got You In My Sights, Chiaki Ikoma is an anti-social otaku whose fixation with 2D girls suddenly switches focus to his classmate Kazuya Minami, when the former catches the latter having sex with another man. Thus begins Chiaki’s risky voyeurism; the tension of peeping captured perfectly in the artwork. The surprise ending was a treat, and while some readers may have wanted more, I thought the ending was perfect for this story. At just 33 pages (and I believe $2USD?), if you’re looking for an interesting yaoi one-shot, this one’s worth setting your sights on.

[unblinded-by-nostalgia-blog]

The Story

The story focuses more on the emotional side of the characters. And the story is done very well here. It's not too fast paced like many Yaoi manga, but it isn't too slow that you feel like there is no progress happening.

The Characters

The characters are very well developed here. We even see the seme learn about the protagonist's OCD effects him with romantic and sexual activities which even battles the Seme been too forward trope we have seen many times before in Yaoi. The are actual consequences to the characters actions which is very refreshing to see.

The Art

The art is still not the best out there, some of the panels still look like prototypes and the characters look the same except for their hairstyle!

The Yaoi

We actually get a realistic, but enjoyable love story in this. And we definitely do see the characters falling in love with each other gradually, instead of 5 pages in!

The biggest problem with the Yaoi is that the English release by SuBLime is censored. But fans of the series have made uncensored versions on scanlation sites. Which is confusing because companies do have uncensored versions of their products that they usually ship to the west. Why are SuBLime's titles censored? (Okay, to be fair, the censorship in this manga isn't as bad as other series, just think doujinshi censorship, that's what it's like.)

But the scene itself has instantly become one of my favourites. Instead of the cleche of anal sex that most gay literature has, the manga decides to go the more realistic approach of gay sex by showing us the two having sex without the anus being involved. It is a very touching scene because the seme knows that having anal sex with the Uke will trigger his OCD because the anus is dirty. So them having sex in a different way is really sweet and it makes the characters really feel like they understand and love each other.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this is a great volume with a great heart to match! I definitely recommend you check this series out, even if you aren't a big fan on Yaoi!

The Story 5/5 The Characters 5/5 The Art 2/5 The Yaoi 4.5/5

Overall 4.5/5

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Boyfriend Era is a Go

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

NOV 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - I have to say it, the heist stuff is stupid and all the sidekicks are idiots to the point of annoyance. But Yin and War are truly stellar at these parts. And in general in these roles. Can’t knock 'em. It’s been a year of some very good kisses and this has to have been the best. So this show is top of the standings this week for that kiss alone. Like srs boys? I mean to say, BOYS! How dare. Breaking the internet like that.

Honestly, let's be clear, these two have had killer chemistry since the En of Love and we all expected great things. And now, here we sit, suffering great things from these kings. Thank you, Sirs, may we have another?

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 15 - I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. The Per Win story arc never interested me in 2014 and I’m not enjoying it now either. But Mick and Ohm are better in 2024. Nong Mick is a standout character, and a brilliant glow up in this version and he’s a confident little shit (affectionate). The mains are good too, but Phun and Noh always were great characters, and these actors are quite good. Possibly better than the original. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - More bf era delightful diabetes. They are the best boyfriends and the cutest family in the entire world. No exceptions. Next week is definitely doom tho. 

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - Talk about making consent and communication sexy! *fans self* Whoah! That was unexpectedly great. The blatancy of the lust in this one was fun too. And the general casual switch nature of the relationship = delightful.

I like the little acting course we're getting from these tw. They are both quite good. I’m not sure I really enjoy the stories that they’re telling, but I do like how they are telling them.

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 6 of 16 - Hill is the premier torch carrier of this year. My goodness. He sure nursed that crush. While I really like this main couple, I’m happy to have some of the others start to creep into the narrative at this juncture. Alone HillTer are a bit intentionally miscommunicative and saccharine. But the screen-time distribution amongst couples seems a little strange. That said, couple 2? No thank you. I really don't like North as a character at all. I find him incredibly unappealing. Ordinarily I'd be on his side because....... blackmail trope renders Johan automatically a complete arse. But at least this is 2 unlikable characters being jerks to each other?

Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) ep 2 of 24 - Say it with me Thailand: negging is NOT romantic. Frankly, Arc is just an asshole and a bully with anger issues. But…… Yay cute sides! PondSand they funny. (Book, to me = never very funny. I don’t think comedy is his bailiwick. Look, comedy is HARD ya’ll and usually not in that way.) 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 1 of 11 - They’re doing some interesting stuff with the framing (both filming style and narrative) that makes this extremely old-fashioned feeling (like Takumi-kun level). I keep saying that this year, but it feels like BL is doing a lot of rediscovering its roots right now. This one even had a goldfish. And abuse. (The two, oddly, often go hand-in-hand in JBL ) And overall...... it’s a bit weird. Which I don’t mind from Japan. Japanese BL can get weird in a good way. Oh I like it. Bully meats smart loaner, total opposites attract, both are lonely and broken and NEED each other, and all that.

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 4 of 13 - Oh dear, our poor little rich boy is very broken indeed. The sides are utterly ridiculous.

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 6 of 7 - I don’t normally like a love triangle, but I kind of like this one since it gave our uke a bit more depth and agency. And charm, quite frankly. So far he’s been a very dower character.

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 9-10 of 12 - Okay boyfriend era is a go. Goodness but they sure are adorable. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 7 of ? - The slow burn is really very slow. To the point of frustration. But I'm still enjoying the show, just not as much as I was.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 8 of 10 eps - Even Japan is going through a bf era rn I see. How unusual.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I’m slightly less annoyed by this one than the original (but I was VERY annoyed by that). I think mame is being tempered by a few things:

There’s so much less time spent on the back-and-forth, because this is a much shorter show, so I have less time to be frustrated by it and the utter uselessness of 75% of these characters.

Also, there's that innate Japanese awkwardness of portrayal & social interaction, which makes the unpleasantness of the characters' behavior and touch more understandable.

This, in turn, is married to the natural kink factor of JBL.

There’s a clearer Dom sub from the get go with this version, makes the blackmailing a little bit more tolerable because it's clearly Play. (negotiated or not) Simply put, daddy wants his brat to beg. And honestly? So say we all.

On a completely different note, the wardrobe for this show is terrible. Like truly bad BAD.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 3-4 - Well I guess that’s that disability dealt with. Meanwhile, competitive bullying art students? I am very amused. Zoo date was cute. This is unquestionably a BL (I’m even more scared now). Still, the gay boys dealing with the straight dude’s crush was truly hilarious. So much "our gay drama doesn’t have time for your het bullshit." Classy move, I smell some Taiwan in this show.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 4-8 end - I was reliably informed this has an HFN end so I decided to watch. Noble and self sacrificing with both of them taking the blame.

My thoughts are...... mixed.

High school student Do Hoe lives with his brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym. When cheerful Ju Young arrives to train, they fall in love. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite over a decade years later. Essentially this is a brilliant narrative about finding love at the worst possible time, surviving chronic abuse, and the way we process mental, emotional, and physical trauma overtime. Yes it’s also a romance, but that’s not primarily what this story is actually about. I can recognize its genius, but this type of narrative is not for me. I’m reminded of bittersweet painful shows like To My Star 2, or The On1y One, or even Not Me. Is this BL tangential or is it some other genre entirely? Am I questioning my own taste because I did not like its content, or because I do not like its genre? And if it’s not BL should I even render judgment? I think I have to lean into the way I approached some of those other shows, which is to say: it is not for me but I recognize that it is of an extremely high-quality that is certainly for someone else.

Recommended, but only if you like masochistic cinema. Under those circumstances 9/10

(but know that if i were rating for my personal taste? 7/10 I’m never re-watching this, and there is a small part of me that wishes I never had) 

It's airing but......

Love for Loves Sake got some kind of special supposed to air 11/9. Not sure what, why, or where. Only the rumor that it...... is. I'll believe it when I see it...... literally.

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) 10 eps - I've been reliably told not to bother, so I won't.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YouTube) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me. And just very very odd. DNF

In case you missed it

Uncle Unknown finished its run on YT. Censored Chinese BL with paralytically bad production levels. But certainly BL. Boys reunite after a break up only to discover one of them is the step-Uncle of the other. Much to my own shock and surprise I watched all 12 episodes of this. Fortunately, each episode is about 5 minutes long. Under those circumstances is it worth it? Maybe. It’s bad. But not offensive. So that's a win. And you know me, I love a weird take on the stepbrother’s trope and incest taboos. 5/20 watch it only if you have nothing better to do

Next Week Looks Like This:

Gosh there's a lot on right now.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

November BL:

11/15 Caged Again (Thai Fri Gaga) 10 eps - Penguin escapes zoo by turning into a human. Gets trapped again and a panther falls in love with him.

11/17 Your Sky (Thai Sun iQIYI) 12 eps - A naive freshman and the campus’s popular senior agree to pretend to be a couple - but their fake deal begins to generate real feelings.

11/20 Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love

11/20 The Heart Killers (Thai Weds YT iQIYI) 12 eps - Jojo directs FirstKhao & JoongDunk in an action romcom about assassin brothers (Khao & Joong) who meet a tattoo artist ex-booster (First) and a mechanic (Dunk). I'm highly amused that Joong plays the older brother to Khao and that we have a take on the Taming of the ShrewBL. I like that everyone is morally gray. This has all GMMTV's best chemistry in one BL and some fresh concepts that I've only seen tackled in m/m romance novels (check out Amy Lane's Racing for the Sun, thank me later). I'm excited. My only quibble is Jojo, I like his style but his characters can get unreliably messy so…... this gonna be interesting.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

The insane level of his babygirl heart eyes.

Just, have mercy.

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

[artbookie]

CLAMP Exhibition Official Art Book COLOR KURO

Watch the video below for the flipthrough review. If you like the artbook, please support the artist by buying a copy ^_^

[tiktaalic]

I’m not going to lie this is pretty fucked up. Kind of makes you think things like you people should be shot.

[sincerelyyadere]

Dead man's switch review [no spoilers] 10/10

kinda yandere, zombie apocalypse, character growth, secrets, possesive, horror romance, ongoing

tw: nsfw, lots of blood, gore, mentions of suicide

I literally couldn't stop reading this shit. I loved how the author has written the characters and showed how the apocaliptic, extreme times can make people do crazy shit. Its truly one of the kind in the manhwa genre.

The only unrealistic thing was that the mc and lm seemed to be getting to horny stuff only while the mc was injured (at first at least) but it didn't make mc's injuries go worse??? Idk if i fucked like a rabbit while i was hurt i think my physical health wouldn't been better afterwards ;-;

Also, i think the main character was a little slow onto the secret that ml holds, which was not annoying as such, but, again, kinda... weird? Like dude, its not that hard XD

But those are some minor flaws, i can't WAIT for the season 2 to come out!!!!

[cowboy-robooty]

Robooty Reviews: Royal Servant (3/10)

Read this way back in middle school... shared mangago lists with one of my friends and recognized this one and decided to reread. Lord. Who Likes This. The story is about Kyon and his master Lucaon and theres like some plot bullshit since in this world theres these guys who are royals and got these powers that they never fuckin use and live longer too and are strong n all that. and the only way to kill one tho is to give them this special poison that is completely undetectable and the only way to cure it is if the person who administered it fixes that shit. But yeah Lucaon hates servants and Kyon is a servant and Lucaon is a classic stoic scum gong and falls in love with Kyon but only starts being nice to him once Kyon literally spends 20 chapters on the brink of death lol bro got a fever and slit his wrists and fell into an ice pond and then got a fever again and pneumonia and Lucaon went "..... ok ill be nice to you now"

the art is good for this story dont get me wrong but its really really really stiff expression wise. maybe i'm just a little stupid and i need to see a huge cartoon tear drop to tell a character is sad but for realsies I do think that the art is pretty, but the expressions when bitches are fucking dying and shit could be a little more extreme. its okay to sacrifice their pretty boy looks for one pannel trust me..

The romance itself is just like whatevs. I will admit I am a fan of how kyon will just take anything like bro does not give a fuck okay cuz hes madly in love with Lucaon and doesnt care what he does to him. Im pretty sure in one chapter Kyon is just walking in the halls and Lucaon lunges at him and bites him until he bleeds and kyon passes the fuck out from the attack and its just like ok lol. LUCAON DOESNT GIVE A FUCK HES SO MEAN TO KYON UNTIL HES SUDDENLY NOT BECAUSE HE HAD HIS SCUM GONG REALIZATION WHEN KYON TRIES TO LEAVE HIM 15 MILLION TIMES AND ALMOST DIES IN EVERY INSTANCE OF TRYING TO LEAVE. the upside to kyon is that hes a simp and a pussy and he is a bit of a little bitch but he isnt a whiny bitch about it. like lucaon is his tormentor and he finds out that THERES A POSSIBILITY that he could be the cause of Lucaon's demise and immediately is like okay ill kill myself i need to get out of here and thats why he almost dies 10 million times trying to leave bc he only tries to leave bc lucaon's blonde ass brother is like dude. you might cause Lucaon to die since you're a secret spy with your memories wiped. AND ITS KINDA FUNNY BECAUSE HE STRAIGHT UP SEES KYON ALMOST DEAD IN BED AND GOES "GOD I WISH THIS BITCH WOULD JUST DIE ALREADY" LOL!!

When i was younger i was a fan of the pink haired guy (lucaons other brother) and his servant who is his boyfriend and treated as an equal and yeah younger me was right tbh kind wish the story focused on them instead. but ngl i hate the entire family drama thing bc like its the plot and all that but im like WHO GIVE A FUCK? this manhwa is just mid. mid as fuck. I'll admit when i was younger i re read the 20 chapters where kyon is on the brink of death like 50000 times over and over again because i loveeee suicide and i lovee when kyon tries to kill himself a million jillion times and Lucaon is like FUCKING STOP. theres like idk tiny hints of goodness. I can enjoy a good scum gong alright and I do like when Lucaon is like "brah... ive seen you cry more times than smile..... thats kinda fucked" MMMMMMM YES. FEEL BAD. FEEL REMORSE. but its just not worf it okay the manhwa sucks and its 100 chapters or some shit like that bruh moment. I also do like how at the end Kyon acknowledges that hes going to die before Lucaon and Lucaon needs to learn how to love other people than him because he doesn't want Lucaon to be stuck on him forever and ever. I think it was a nice bittersweet thing. In short. just not my thing. mid. equivalent to eating spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner. Like you can... wont be very satisfying tho

[jun-zzz]

[YAOI] Recently Read: Hopelessly Devoted

Art&Story: Yamamoto Kotetsuko Publisher: Kaiohsha English License and Official Translation on futekiya Volumes: 10 (~4 chapters/volume)

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My review below (each rating out of 5): Art: 🥵🥵🥵 Plot: 😏😏😏 Character Development: 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 I came for the unique Buddhist priest setting and childhood friends plot of Yuuji x Saburou, but stayed for the side couple, Kenji (Yuuji’s pretty, asshole brother) and Yoshito (dopey neighbor with big dick??). 3 volumes in, I found myself trying to get through Yuuji and Saburou’s plot quickly so I could see what would happen with Kenji and Yoshito. Thinking back, sure, Yuuji and Saburou are super devoted to each other, but the most hopelessly devoted one is Yoshito. While for me, Yuuji and Saburou’s story became a little boring and predictable after a while, all the drama ended up with Kenji and Yoshito. I mean... their subplot includes another sexy priest. 

[weeddennis]

2020 a year in review was a good episode idc what anyone says

[extrarottengirl]

Pet by Deulsum

Status: Complete (3 chapters)

Rating: Grapefruit

Warnings: None

Additional Tags: Kink, BDSM, Master/Slave, Dom/Sub, Power Bottom, Bondage, Loving.

Summary: “A florist and his regular customer. On the surface, they seem normal but they have a very special relationship, restraints, handcuffs, toys, SM. The florist is a master and the other is a dog who listens obediently. However, things take an interesting turn when their already unusual relationship grows into something more.” - Mangadex

Review: For all the kinky fun that is packed into three chapters, this is surprising sweet and loving. The two characters are in a budding kink relationship where there is an opportunity for more to bloom. The art is detailed and stunning. The only thing I wish about this is that there were more chapters. 

The BDSM relationship feels appropriately negotiated. The characters despite the short length of this work have good depth. I definitely recommend it for those looking for something spicy without a dark twist. 

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Lots of lovely kisses & an unwarranted upset in the standings

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Oct 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 2 of 16 - Yes yes J&J should be first but I am weak in the face of, well, frankly this man's face:

Pond = greatest piner in a dog’s age. The yearning in that boy’s eyes is obscene, it’s like the most explicit sex that only he can see and we’re just voyeurs.

Thus I continue to adore this stupid show and everything it stands for. No notes. May the fluff continue eternal.

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - Everyone is so skilled in this show, but War is truly glorious. Considering the pacing, I think we are probably in for some long periods of darkness, suffering, and pain soon. I’m not mad about that prospect, it’s earned and foreshadowed, I just thought I’d lay it out there.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 6 of 12 - More boys from GMMTV with good communication. Who knew? Min has SUCH a white knight complex. NO SINGING. Good demanding kiss, though. Well, Ohm can handle anything. 

Meanwhile, this really is a bodyguard romance under another name. And I kinda wanna rewatch Never Let Me Go as a result.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 4 of 15 - Earn remains best boy and my favorite character. Phun is v jelly, as he should be. AND I like Ohm & N'Mik better in this version. I still prefer the original leads, but I’m enjoying this enough. 

I had no idea how much I missed Gunsmile! It’s so nice to see him on my screen again.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 12 fin - I hate Diew’s mom. Hate her. So much. She may be my least favorite mom ever in BL. That’s saying a lot. No I don’t think she was redeemed. 

Conclusion

Adapted from the novel Godzilla Next Door by Jiwinil about an introvert who lives mostly in his room, until a loud annoying extrovert moves in next door. This was one of my top picks for 2024 and I’m delighted to say it satisfied expectations. A charmingly serene story of opposites attract, that featured good communication, patience, and genuine affection used to build a solid relationship.(I’m particularly delighted that our musician is a drummer and I don’t have to listen to him sing.) Yes it’s a tad slow but it’s very earnest and leans into the kind of sweetness that Thai BL does best. Doesn’t hurt that this starred an actor (Big) that many of us have been hoping would get a lead for years. I was pleased and comforted. This is not a kind of BL that suits everybody, but it suited me admirably. 8/10 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - Ozone and the Ice Prince (name still unknown) did their little dance. What an earnest and romantic confession from our Icy man. I literally said “no no no just kiss, no foreheads.” And it was a great crying kiss, my favorite. Honestly, that amount of emotion hadn’t been earned by this pair, but I don’t mind. I could watch a whole show just about them. Also woah! Major nekid on YT?

Thailand......

Risking demonetization for arse…...

I guess we’ve all been there. 

Where was I?

I’m happy with this episode since it was mostly my side couple. But the distribution of main couple and side couple and the focus of each episode is wildly erratic with this show. It’s very odd. (And let's be clear we ordered errotic not erratic.)

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.) Soulmate premise is a mix of Color Rush and La Pluie. Frankly, this isn’t as good as either, but it’s enjoyable in a slow cheerful way. Especially if you like this particular set of tropes. It’s quietly lovely and I like the leads. Sunshine is very very sunshine and our tsundere is a grumpy mysterious nerd. Trigger for domestic abuse. It looks like each episode is gonna be a completely different meet cute with the same pairing. It’s more linked vignettes than any overarching story. So if you don’t like this pair, you won’t like this series.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 9 of 10 - More sports day. (Everybody’s doing sports days right now.) Random sides kissing. Where did the glasses person come from? Was he introduced and I forgot about it? Oh that’s the evil cousin! Okay… anygay. Sides randomly flip-flop who they like and I don’t know what the fuck is going on. This show. I swear. Ooo caught kissing. And… killed? What a mind fuck of a soap opera. Honestly, I’m fine if he’s dead, I don’t care at this point I just feel jerked around. 

For some reason no eng sub for me for the first half. So I watched with Spanish subs (which is about as good as my Thai, only for different words). What a wild experience.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh dear. I just can’t imagine ever rooting for this couple. Which means… Why am I watching this? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 1-2 of 7 - Oh I love it. Casual flirty westernized-style boss. Reserved reluctant cutie (yes we’ve seen the actor before). Is it disgusting workplace harassment? Oh most certainly. Do I enjoy it anyway? Yep, I’m warped. No defense, but at least it’s something from Korea. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 3 of ? - I like the lead being bullied and pushed to his limit thus turning into a psychopath. It’s gonna be a fun ride if it really goes Devil Judge just teens and actually gay. I wonder if it has the strength of its convictions? 

Our Golden Times (Hong Kong YT) 5 fin? - I guess that is the reunion? What an odd little piece. I’m not entirely sure what I feel about it except that this feels more BL than anything Hong Kong has given us so far (which isn't much). The subs are truly terrible. Since I speak absolutely zero Cantonese I can’t really fix them in my brain. I thought this was the final ep but then a teaser for ep 6 dropped so I we have at least one more. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - It was a nice, if entirely unearned reunion. And the leads do kiss beautifully. Trust Taiwan. I am so glad that Orca is back! There was even a little language play flip-flopping just for me. Very cute. Also GREAT kissing. How long have we been waiting for Thailand and Taiwan to kiss? 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 1-2 of 12 - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab. This has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world (worrying). But I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER. Stars Yoon Jun Won (The Man BLK) and Thai actor Save Saisawat (Ai Long Nhai). I begin to think every The Man BLK member will eventually lead out a BL at this point.

It’s enjoyable in a weird way. Grumpy (hottie with a crush) + sunshine (captain oblivious). I gotta say, since this is the second relationship dual lingo style in our BL rn that it’s ALWAYS weird if the other half doesn't occasionally code switch languages, especially for specific words. In other words, the Korean dude is supposed to at least understand Thai, occasionally he’s should use a Thai world to get a point across. And the Thai dude is there to STUDY KOREAN, he should be slipping in and out of Korean regularly. Bah. 

It's airing but...

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 5 of 10 eps - I never managed to get hold of ep 5. Frankly, it’s going to Netflix (I don’t subscribe) so I might not finish this out of sheer laziness. 

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea ????) 8 eps? - was supposed to air 10/10 Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming Oct 2024:

10/17 Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) 8 eps - High school student Do Hoe lives with his violent and brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym in a rural area. One day, cheerful Ju Young arrives, he dreams of going to college for Taekwondo. Joy begins to fill Do Hoe's dark life. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite ten years later.

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Okay, this is both a movie (already out) and a series. Neither one is likely BL and I can't imagine it will end happily. I'm giving both a pass but here's your synopsis.

Cynical fun loving student Young pinballs from home, to class, to on night stands. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and hookups.

10/23 See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga & Viki) 10 eps? - Zi Xiong, a third-generation heir, attempting to flee from taking over their family business, meets and falls in love with Shao Peng, who works as a hearing-impaired nurse. From the same production house as Kiseki Dear To Me in partnership with Shinehouse Theatre, funded by Taiwan’s BIGART + Japan's Rakuten (Viki). Show includes Lin Chia Yo (Be Loved in House: I Do). Director Chiang Ping Chen’s childhood experiences with his deaf uncle have inspired the drama.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Addicted Heroin

Incidentally he didn’t ask to “be with Ter” he asked if he could flirt/court him. jeeb doesn’t really have a direct translation, but it isn’t “be with.” 

Fourever You

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[artbookie]

CLAMP Exhibition Official Art Book COLOR SHIRO Watch the video below for the flipthrough review. If you like the artbook, please support the artist by buying a copy ^_^

[infizero-draws]

QUICK haters are asleep, post MOUNDERS YAOI

[mamaladeskies]

Shutline is Nasty Business

I happened upon Shutline the animation by chance as I was surfing an unnamed website for the next thing to watch when the poster of Jake and Shin caught my eye.

Tell me, how could I pass this? Look at their shadow!

I pressed play immediately, expecting a buddy cop show because I didn't read the description -- descriptions are for the weak, plus this is as adventurous as I get. What I did not expect was the low budget animation and the nastiness (compliment)!

Yoh, I'll be honest, I was about to dip and skip this anime because the characters look like paper-people with a voice actor slapped on top, and frankly after reading the manhwa, I stand by it.

But! The moment the show started to linger on Shin's features, I had to find out where this was going. I'm talking like precious seconds dedicated to Shin's ass.

I was not disappointed. Shortly after, Shin was on his knees paying homage to Jake's glorious manhood. This is fancy speak for Shin was giving Jake a bj in public.

My eyes were nearly watering in disbelief! I don't think I've seen something this mature in animation, to be fair though I don't watch a lot of anime. The closest thing may be Citrus but it was not this mature. Citrus was mainly sensual with lots of kissing and it had a semblance of a plot. Shutline's plot did not make sense, so while I kept watching for the mature content I was also trying to understand what the hell was going on.

At the end of 5 episodes each 5 or 6 minutes long, I was thoroughly confused. It made sense that the next course of action was reading the manhwa.

I finished Vol 1 in a matter of hours, it's that good. The manhwa caters fully to my tastes: two masculine men, grey characters who are well developed, no declaration of love, instead their actions communicate it, an interesting action driven plot, slow burn, no heteronormativity, and aged-up characters who are actually mature.

The drawings were also really good; those of the characters, I especially love how Shin looks, and the background as well. It's obvious the author is not cutting corners.

Something else I need to commend is how the author was able to communicate their sexual tension in drawing. There's a scene where Jake goes to visit Shin at the garage and then we get these panels of Shin's muscular build and Jake being discreetly hot and bothered. The fact that Jake could get turned on by Shin's armpit... I'm in awe.

In girl love (gl) mangas that I've read when the author has panels focused on the women's intimate parts like boobs, sometimes I'm like, what was the reason! Because the woman might only be doing mundane stuff like reading with no love interest in site to warrant such close ups. Thanks to Shutline I've seen the potential of such close ups.

Which brings me to something else; the sex has greater purpose! When the characters had sex within the first several episodes I was sure I'd soon get bored if the story was stuffed full with them and do thorough skimming, but I was wholly satisfied to find that they're purposeful.

For one, yes it helps take their relationship to the next level -- one sex scene shows us how Jake is pushing his boundaries for Shin. And two, it's advancing the plot -- in Vol 2 Shin and Jake have a discussion that determines where the plot goes next while having sex. In this particular scene we also get to see Shin trick Jake which was interesting, finally my boy gets a point against Jake.

A nitpick I have is how Jake reminds me of Wilson Fisk from Into the Spiderverse, both Fisk and Jake fill the screen/panel and they both like black suits. I swear I am not reaching, I just can't unsee it.

I don't think I have a major critique of the manhwa yet. As for the animation; it's very obvious important back stories were cut so that you need to have read the manhwa to get it, what's majorly left is the mature scenes. This makes me think that the animation might be fan service. It is not a bad thing, but I definitely stand by the fact that the story itself is so good it deserves better.

This reddit user says that Shutline has the potential to rival KinnPorsche and I have to agree, but only if done well.