#Semantic Error (Bit Part) Movie

[madeinkorea-blbambeyond]

MCF: MADE IN KOREA

KI HYUN WOO

[respectthepetty]

Petty, I respect you.

I do.

However.

DONT BE QUITE ABOUT THE COLOURS IN ON1Y 1 BECAUSE I WILL READ A FULL THESIS ON IT, 20 PAGES!!!! 50 PAGES!!!!

PLEASEEEE Give

It

To

Meeeeeeeee 🥹

Anon,

You've opened a floodgate.

Because I always notice the colors, but just because I see colors doesn't mean I know why they are significant. Even if I see there is a pattern, it doesn't mean I understand its importance. And I don't think y'all should be subject to me screaming about Jiang Tian's paper bookmarks being yellow and pink in a book of (love?) poems where he has highlighted that "a girl's shyness is like a tender cherry under the sunlight" and "16- and 17-year-olds are like fruits in the morning sun, sparkling."

Sheng Wang asks who this is about, but we know who this is about. The colors mean things.

And more importantly, I actually didn't write weekly or episodic posts about shows until 2022. I used to wait until a show was over to write about the colors or background noise, and, mostly, I only did it when people would ask me about it. Big Dragon was the first show that I felt compelled to write weekly about the colors and background noise because it was so amazing, so 2024 is still an odd space for me to be in sometimes because as much as I love colors, I'm ALWAYS surprised how much y'all want to know about them . . . weekly . . . per episode . . . for all the shows.

I write for myself, but sometimes I think y'all don't need to witness me losing my shit every week for sixteen weeks over obviously color-coded characters in The Loyal Pin.

And sometimes I think y'all don't want to witness me losing my shit over colors that I can't completely understand like the grays in 4 Minutes.

And then other times I think y'all shouldn't have to witness me losing my shit over colors that I'm not sure are colors until I've watched enough episodes to feel sure that the colors are, in fact, coloring; then, the series, The Trainee, actually tells me the colors were coloring the entire time like I thought.

And that's why I try to be quiet about shows because I'm figuring them out in my head, or I'm waiting for enough information to feel confident about them, and I don't want to hog up the tag with my ramblings. I need to sit in it a bit to figure out what the colors mean.

Kiseki: Dear to Me was the perfect example. I didn't mention anything about colors until prompted by others because it took me until the third episode to feel certain that Chen Yi and Ai Di matched colors, then it took me close to the end of the series to realize all the cameo couples ALSO matched colors.

It took me until the end of My Love Mix-Up to realize Aoki's color had evolved.

It took me two seasons (and a movie) to feel secure that Kiyoi was a Heavenly Human in My Beautiful Man.

And it took me until midway through Semantic Error to figure out why the red disappeared.

That's how The On1y One is for me. I knew yellow/orange and blue would play some part in the story based on the posters, but I wasn't sure how until I started seeing more visuals appear.

Because even though I saw a yellow container of food for Sheng Wang in the first episode,

I didn't realize he mostly ate color-coded food until episode four.

It's such a tiny detail, so I could have easily missed it, but because I know that he is a picky eater, I feel like it's not simply a coincidence, and I quickly noticed it in the eighth episode.

But I needed to collect more images before I could state that. I needed to let the story develop before I realized it. I needed to settle into it. And that's why I wrote my halfway point post after a few people asked if I noticed.

Because I know I seem like a magician who shouts a lot, but I'm not. Sometimes, I have to be patient and let the colors sneak up on me while I'm simply enjoying the moment, like Sheng Wang's orange alarm clock nestled into the corner of his bed while he falls asleep on his light yellow pillow in his light yellow shirt.

I know not all visuals can be a literal bright yellow sign hanging from the color-coded boy's room, ya know?

I'm not Jenny who cannot grasp that she keeps taking food and drinks meant for Benny even when he realized if she could figure out the mug was about gay rights without realizing he was gay then someone smarter will along and piece the dots together . . .

Because like, girl, he's gay.

But it does take me time to collect images and get my thoughts in order, so until then, I'm going to be quiet.

Or as quiet as a loud ass like me can be.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Utsukushii Kare master post

With Utsukushii Kare: Eternal becoming available on streaming in Japan and rumors of international streaming distribution on the horizon, I thought this might be a good time to do a roundup post of all of my meta writing on the series so far. There's quite a bit of it. Between the complexity of the psychological themes in this series and my capacity for hyperfocus, I ended up with a lot to say.

In case it doesn't go without saying, this post is subject to change as I continue to post on this topic.

The psychological paradoxes of Utsukushii Kare

This is a series of posts (the current plan is to write three installments) about what it says on the tin: paradoxical psychological dynamics in Utsukushii Kare. These are things about the characters that may seem contradictory at first but can be accounted for by digging deeper into some psychological concepts. These posts are focused on the series (both seasons) but will draw from the movie and from the novel and related stories when they illustrate points about the series.

Part 1: Covert grandiosity and finding status through idealization - A pretty deep dive into 1) the subtle ways Hira shows that while his self-image can be highly negative in some ways, in other respects he feels superior to others and 2) how by elevating Kiyoi’s status and humbling himself in comparison, Hira attains a different kind of status.

An addendum of sorts to part 1: Hira's parents and his self-defeating tendencies - Some guesswork about how Hira's parents could have contributed to his self-defeating personality, with some further discussion of specific self-defeating strategies he uses in his relationship with Kiyoi and elsewhere.

Utsukushii Kare through the lens of pursuer-distancer dynamics and related psychological concepts:

The pursuer-distancer dyad & how it applies to the world of BL - a primer on this psychological concept and how it applies to BL generally, with a brief reference to how this concept applies to Utsukare (also touches on Semantic Error and talks in detail about an example from To My Star 2). This one isn't super focused on Utsukushii Kare but is pretty de rigeur for understanding my UK posts on this topic.

Paradoxical roles; or, I think I finally figured out the pursuer-distancer dynamic in Utsukushii Kare - This post comes after some of the posts listed below but I recommend reading it first as this is really where (I think) I cracked the code on this aspect of the story.

Pursuer-distancer roles & attachment style in Utsukushii Kare, Part 1: Hira - In-depth discussion of Hira's role in the pursuer-distancer dyad, his attachment style, and his personality

Pursuer-distancer roles and attachment style in Utsukushii Kare Part 2: Kiyoi - In-depth discussion of Kiyoi's role in the pursuer-distancer dyad, his attachment style, and his personality

Re-evaluating pursuing & distancing in Utsukushii Kare season 1 - super detailed post working out my thoughts about pursuing and distancing in season 1

On the way Sakai Mai (the series' director) uses seme left, uke right framing and its significance in BL and other Japanese media:

Using an example from the s2e1 with the girl who hits on Hira at a party (via a reblog of a gifset from @nanons)

On the way Sakai flips Hira's and Kiyoi's position in the frame in two versions of the same scene and what it tells us about its significance

How the persistent/cute trope plays out in Utsukushii Kare season 2, plus related overanalyses of the big season 2 finale kiss:

The persistent and the cute (how "persistent" and "cute" are code words with specific meanings in BL/yaoi/other drama and manga genres/Japanese culture more broadly)

Analyzing the season 2 finale kiss in light of seme left/uke right framing and the persistent/cute trope (in a reblog of a gif post by @nanons)

Reblogging @bl-bracket to lobby for the season 2 finale kiss, with more overanalysis

Fragrance nerd discussion:

This bittersweet fragrance - on the significance of osmanthus/tea olive in Utsukushii Kare season 2, with additional information on the possible significance of the fragrance of osmanthus and perfumes that are either osmanthus soliflores or feature prominent osmanthus notes

Posts on specific season 2 episodes:

initial thoughts about S2e1

Additional (informal) thoughts on s2e1

S2e1 rundown

Hira's incongruous/misaligned affect at the end of s2e1

S2e2 rundown

on S2e2, including pursuer-distancer dynamics and seme left, uke right

Utsukushii Kare S2E4: “face me straight on” (mostly discussing relationship dynamics pointed out in topic-specific metas)

on Utsukushii Kare: Eternal:

Kiyoi and Anna: on Kiyoi’s friendship with Anna and its significance for his personal growth

[lurkingshan]

Anticipating the LITBC Adaptations

One of the questions @bengiyo asked us this week is what parts of the book we are most looking forward to seeing in the upcoming film and drama adaptations. I had a good convo with @doyou000me and @stuffnonsenseandotherthings in the comments here, and I wanted to talk a bit about why I am excited for these adaptations.

Most folks who watch a lot of South Korean media know that there is precious little LGBTQ+ representation in Korean dramas and film. In mainstream kdrama, we are lucky if we get a queer side character a couple times a year, and it's even more rare for those characters to get a romantic partner (but not unheard of, see Be Melodramatic my beloved). There has been a big uptick in Korean bl production over the last few years, but most of those projects are underfunded and fly under the radar (with notable exceptions like Semantic Error, The Eighth Sense, and Love for Love's Sake). So it is a very big deal to me to see two mainstream adaptations of Love in the Big City, a story that is undeniably centered on a queer lived experience.

Let's talk about the film first. When I first saw the announcement that we would get a film adaptation starring Kim Go Eun, Steve Noh, and Kang Ha Neul, I was ecstatic. These are huge names in Korean media, drama headliners and movie stars. Now, does the choice to focus only on part 1 and center the story on Jaehee mean this project likely won't feel fully rooted in Young's queer perspective? Absolutely, we should recognize that and manage our expectations accordingly. But there will be a mainstream film about the relationship between a woman and a gay man living together, and that is already a very big deal for South Korea. We have to look at this project from the context of Korean social politics and recognize that it signifies progress. And I am still hopeful that Young will feel like a fully realized character, even if we are unlikely to see the full extent of his depth and complexity represented in this film.

And that is where the drama comes in. Sang Young Park himself is the screenwriter for this adaptation, and based on the production photos @my-rose-tinted-glasses shared here, we are getting all four parts of the story in this version. The cast here is not as famous as the film headliners, but they are recognizable, solid actors who have had main roles in other dramas. I don't know how these two projects came to be made at the same time, so I can only say that having them premiere around the same time is genius, whether by intention or happenstance. Because I can easily imagine that people who are exposed to this story for the first time via the film might then go check out the drama, where they will see a much fuller picture of Young's life and an authentic queer experience. @archiveofmystuff shared that there has been some reporting about the long process to secure funding for this full novel adaptation, and I'm not surprised it was difficult. But with Sang Young Park attached I feel confident that we will get a solid version of this story, even if it can't get quite as explicit about all the gory details as the novel did. I can't wait to see Young, Jaehee, Umma, Hyung, and Gyu-ho on my screen, and I'll be so curious to see how he structures the show to fit the four parts of his novel into eight 50-minute episodes. There are so many exciting possibilities and I am feeling optimistic.

TL; DR: it's a big deal that these adaptations are being made, and it will surely result in more people seeing Young's story. It's a signal of positive progress in the Korean media landscape, and I welcome it.

[kamenstranger]

Several years back I did a review on Kamen Rider Black and my opinion hasn't changed much since. Like a lot of my older stuff, I think that review is a bit long winded describing the ending stretch of the series, but overall it still conveys my love of Kamen Rider Black.

The short of it is Black was a return to basics for the franchise while at the same time breathing new life with more contemporary themes of 1980s Japan excess. Very cult like villains akin to what what happening in the late 70s and coming to a head by the 80s. You have plot lines centered around the ever rising cost of living, the booming idol industry satirized as a means of brainwashing, a greater emphasis on the horror aspects, the strongest environmental message since the original Manga, and uh, cults infiltrating politics.

It's a fantastic series and it's one of my highest recommended Showa era shows alongside V3.

Today, I mainly want to focus on the Bluray release by Discotek, which primarily means talking about the special features. However, I quickly want to run down a few key factors. First off, the image quality; it's the exact same as the Japanese release, which is what my old review used as a basis so I don't have much to add. It's a crisp gorgeously detailed transfer with those annoying seizure inducing attack sequences of the original broadcast and DVD release removed. Nothing is removed except those flashes in-between frames. This is the ideal way to view the series for that improvement alone. There is a special feature that shows the original attacks from the first couple episodes, should you happen to have a TV Power belt laying around.

As for the subs, truthfully I wasn't even gonna mention them cause I think you know Discotek has a long proven track record for quality. Still, someone might ask, and yes, they're good. They're also your best option nowadays, anyway. The Century King subs are so old you'd be hard pressed to find them, and the redone version that came about with the JPN bluray had a number of misspellings and other typing errors.

I will admit I've not finished this watch, but nothing in Discotek's release has stuck out to me as egregious. The only thing I can think of that might bug some people is that Kaijin is interpreted as Monster rather than Mutant, which is… whatever. I can understand why the old Century Kings translation used Mutant, it's a good way to keep it separate from how we typically associate Kaiju = Monster. Mutant invokes the more human/jin aspect as opposed to a beast. But that's a level of semantics even I don't care about. Hell, it's not even as if it plays a massive narrative or thematic role, with the possible exception of Whale, who has humanity in a morale sense. The monsters in Black by in large exist as humanoid animals, they're rarely ever humans turned into animal hybrids like the other Showa shows, so I don't think that distinction is all that important in the grand scheme of things.

I should also note, as always, the movies are treated separately, meaning "Hurry to Onigashima" and "The Phantom House of Devil Pass" are not included in the set.

With all that out of the way, first and foremost we have to talk about how Discotek handles presentation of the special features on this set. I will say it's a marked improvement over Gavan, which didn't even mention Special Features on the back of the case. They list the special features on Black's case…but they don't list what discs those features are on. So I started with 5, which had a almost everything but the cast reunion I was looking for. So I pop in disc 1- no special features. So I start working backwards with disc 4; Cast Reunion part 3. I then had a sense of déjà vu because I did this same song and dance with Gavan. It's a minor thing, but one that could've been easily resolved by simply stating which discs had what, either on the case or the disc themselves. Hell, even just a "Special features discs 2-5" I don't know how they look on RX and Sharivan, but I'm gonna laugh if I get my V3 Bluray and the special features aren't listed as clearly as my Generation Kikaider set.

Anyway, the first special feature is on disc 2 "This is Kamen Rider Black" which was a special that aired one week before the series premier and acted as a sneak preview. I'm glad it's here and not left out or relegated to some bizarre compilation disc (looking at you, MillCreek.) It's an interesting time capsule and stuff like this should be preserved.

Note that the image quality here looks significantly worse than the remastered episodes because this was on tape, although still quite clear for what it is. You will however notice lines at the bottom of the screen now and then.

As far as the special itself is concerned… it's kinda just marketing fluff hosted by Ishinomori's son, Jo, and Jiban's own Michiko Enokida. You get a very brief interview with Ishinomori, a pretty cool behind the scenes bit of the casting process, Tetsuo Kurata in the recording booth for the main theme and a… pretty awkward as hell interview with Kotaro, Kyoko, and Katsumi. Notice I'm using the character names. It's awkward in both a delightfully and painfully 80s way.

However, the real meat of these features is the 3 part cast reunion, which was included in the 3 sets released in Japan back in '22. Each part is about 40-ish minutes and consists of Testsuo Kurata, Moe (Ayaumi) Taguchi, Hitomi Yoshii, Producer Susumu Yoshikawa, and Director Yoshiaki Kobayashi. Quite the eclectic mix and even a bit odd in the case of Kobayashi, who only directed the opening episode of Black and is slightly infamous for being a bit of a hardass, which the actors do not hide at all. Although they do credit him with pushing them to be better, so there's no ill will. That was, after all, a grueling month long shoot for everyone.

Compared to Gavan's cast special, it's not quite the same wealth of knowledge, or at least it doesn't seem like it because it can feel a tad disjointed. Although that doesn't make it any less interesting. There's simply more reminiscing filled with small personal stories, both entertaining and occasionally insightful. My favorite was Ishinomori insisting Kurata's purchases at a particular restaurant be put on his personal tab. Charming tales aside, there are still major gems about the industry and not just with Black. Such as Kobayashi mentioning the influence of Easy Rider on Kamen Rider due to Ishinomori liking the movie and being fascinated by the counterculture movement. It's nice to have a more direct source on it, since the only other place I can readily cite that claim is dubious at best.

Kobayashi also goes into the complication of not having time to watch your own work as it's airing, which makes it difficult to do adjustments on the production, get audience feedback and see where your own faults lie. There's also discussion about JAC and how incredibly strict their standards are, mainly because hesitation more than anything else is what results in injury. (Although Gavan has a far more in depth look into that area) We even get some tidbits about Toei's Spider-Man, which both Kobayashi and Yoshikawa worked on.

But perhaps my favorite production story with Black specifically is the theme song, which was the duo of Yoko Aki writing the lyrics and her husband Ryudo Uzaki handling the music. It was less a decision on the production side and simply Ishinomori happened to be great friends with Aki, so why not? Which, if you're unfamiliar with the two, they were a HUGE deal. Aki and Uzaki wrote several hits for Japan's biggest idol, Momoe Yamaguchi, in the late 70s, including her biggest hit "Yokosuka Story." Incidentally, Yamaguchi has a son, Takahiro Miuram, who you're probably familiar with as Bilgenia in Black Sun.

Susumu Yoshikawa's only instructions to Aki was to keep the lyrics simple and use very little English since it's a program for children. Uzaki sung on the demo tape with a backing guitar. The original lyrics, according to Kurata, were a bit different in the opening, something along the lines of "Last through the ages, race through the Sky." Although that original demo tape is now sadly lost. Kurata would listen to the tape on repeat in preparation for the recording, which took 6 hours in the booth, all while Aki and Uzaki were present, which made the pressure even harder. Although by Yoshikawa account, it was on the faster side of recording.

There's other production stories I won't cover, some small, some as interesting as the theme, such as the still fairly new Jiro Okamoto taking on the challenging suit acting role (Which it's a shame he isn't part of this feature.) But I won't spoil everything. It's a good three part special that's worth the price of admission alone, but it did leave me wanting more. Thankfully, we still have more.

Most of the other special features are what you would expect; original post credit commercials for Giveaways and Toei's various festivals and events, the U.S. Bluray Trailer, a trailer for RX's Discotek release, the aforementioned segment showing the original attacks in their flashiness. But, as with Gavan, we have a wonderful write up by MachDent.

This is the cherry on the sundae right here. Again, not to deride the other stuff. Trailers and the like should be here, I'd be complaining if they weren't. But this is what I'm interested in most; historical examinations of a show. Frankly, it's quite a bit more informative than the cast reunion while also having a clear concise time line of how Black came to be. Stuff like this, having the Japanese special features, and of course quality subtitles for the main event is really what sets these Discotek releases apart from others. I'd be happy with a relatively bare bone but quality release, but I'd be lying if I didn't say a big selling part was getting these features. I'm not going to pretend these are cheap set by any means, but they're also not cheapening out. I greatly appreciate Discotek not only gathering the stuff on the JPN side, but adding their own special features that elevate the whole thing. Now that we're in an era of having fewer and fewer indie shops and smaller distributors, I feel almost an obligation to support what few remain-- less Sony or Toho gobble them up next.

[craziestfangirl98]

All the BL series I've watched in 2024

I started watching BLs properly on 11th Dec 2023. About a 13ish months now. I have been planning to make this list forever now but have only now finally gotten to it. I cannot believe that I have watched close to 70-ish series in total (more if you consider special episodes and our sky episodes as their own).

Although many were watched as part of catching up with all that is there now, those in bold are ones that I watched at least a little bit episode by episode. I had so gotten used to binge watching things that finally, when I did watch series giving it's time, it is scratching an itch that has rarely happened in a long time.

Anyway, without further ado here's a list of all the series I've watched over the past year.

Most of the ratings, is obviously purely subjective and doesn't have a rhyme or reason for the scoring. It's mostly a matter of vibes, rewatching and how memorable I found the show to be. I haven't really rated the special episodes separately. Anyway, that's about it I guess.

Thai Shows

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us 9.5

A Tale of Thousand Stars 10

Ai Long Nhai

Bad Buddy 9.5

Bed Friend 8

Between Us 8.5

Big Dragon 7

Cherry Magic Remake 9

Cooking Crush 8

Cupid's Last Wish 8.5

Cutie Pie 7.5

Cutie Pie 2 You 7

Dark Blue Kiss 8

Don't Say No 6.5

En of Love: Love Mechanics 7

I Feel You Linger in the Air 7.5

I Told Sunset About You 9.5

Jack & Joker 10

KinnPorsche 7

Kiss Me Again: Pete-Kao 7.5

Knock Knock Boys 9.5

Love In the Air 8

Love in the Air: Special Episode

Love Mechanic 8

Love Sea 7.5

Moonlight Chicken 10

My Dear Gangster Oppa 7

My School President 9

Never Let Me Go 7.5

Not Me 9

Only Friends 8.5

Our Skyy 2

Our Skyy 2: A Tale of Thousand Stars 10

Our Skyy 2: Bad Buddy 10

Our Skyy 2: My School President 9

Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go 7.5

Our Skyy 2: The Eclipse 8

Pit Babe 7

SOTUS 7.5

TharnType 7

TharnType 2: 7 Years Of Love 6.5

The Eclipse 8

The Rebound 8

The Sign 8.5

The Sign Special Episode

The Trainee 9

Theory of Love 8

This Love Doesnt Have Long Beans 7.5

Triage 8.5

Until We Meet Again 8

We Are 8

Wedding Plan 10

Wedding Plan Special Episode

Japanese Shows

At 25:00, in Akasaka 9

Cosmetic Play Lover 7

Love in the Air Japanese Adaption 8.5

My Personal Weatherman 10

Old Fashion Cupcake 10

Perfect Propose 8

Tokyo in April.. 8

Korean Shows

Cherry Blossons After Winter 8

Choco Milk Shake 8

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo 10

Love For Love's Sake 9.5

Our Dating Sim 10

Semantic Error 9

The Eighth Sense 10

The Time of Fever 9.5

To My Star 9.5

To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories 9

Unintentional Love Story 7.5

Where Your Eyes Linger 8

Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart 7

Taiwanese Shows / Movies

Kiseki: Dear to Me 8

Marry My Dead Body 8

The On1y One 10

Unknown the Series 10

We Best Love: Fighting Mr. 2nd 9

We Best Love: No. 1 For You 9.5

Your Name Engraved Herein 9

Out of the entire list, the only series I haven't finished and will probably not come back to it any point later is Naughty Babe

I know I'm like suuuper late to the lists and didn't manage to make one for anything other than the bl superlatives but.... I'm planning to make two other lists by the end of this month hopefully (at least the first one for sure)

Favourite characters

Most memorable watches.

Anyway, the portion underneath are series I'm currently watching/keeping up with.

Currently Watching: Two of these I've heard great things about but only just managed to get to watching them, so probably will be binge watching them. The other two, I've been having fun watching them and am super excited to see where they go.

Caged Again

Century Of Love

Thame - Po 

The Heart Killers

[mousieta]

Dramas Recap - 2024

It’s the beginning of a new year and I have definitely been in a multi-year drama slump so I figured I’d do a little dramas state-of-the-union. I don’t know that I’m really up for full reviews of things I’ve watched over the last couple years but I can share a few thoughts on what I’ve seen and what I am currently watching with a list of things I intend to watch and why.

Completed Dramas

Happy Ending Romance (2022, Korea) - Continue to be mostly unfulfilled by KBL. Watched for Leo, he was great but otherwise disappointed by weak/ nonsensical writing. 1.5/10

Moonlight Chicken (2023, Thailand) - P’Aof, however, continues to not disappoint. Poignant and meaningful, only hampered by the fact I could not believe Earth was a man in his 30s/40s despite how hard he tried. 8.5/10

Semantic Error (2022, Korea) - Cute. Deserving of the hype. I am just bored that so many queer stories focus only on college/high school. 8/10

Curtain Call (2022, Korea) - Sad I disliked this one because I do so adore both Ha Ji Won and Kang Ha Neul but I really hate lying For Reasons storylines especially when they drag out tortuously to meet an episode count. 6.5/10

Taxi Driver (2021, Korea) - Really enjoyed the found family cast, disliked that it felt the creative team didn’t trust their audience so felt talked down to a lot. Minor plot holes/ inconsistencies in writing undermined what could have been a truly stellar show. Maybe I’ll get around to watching season 2. 7.5/10

The New Employee (2022, Korea) - Cute. Forgettable - in that I don’t remember anything about it now a year out. 8/10

Only Friends (2023, Thailand) - A mess of a show rendered annoying by the truly bottom tier of discourse it generated. Worth it for FirstKhao, though, despite weak and frustrating writing. 7/10

The Eighth Sense (2023, Korea) - Ok I suspend my feelings on KBLs for this show because it was actually fantastic (minorly annoying plot points notwithstanding). I found this swoony and moving. 9/10

My Sweet Mobster (2024, Korea)- One of the few standouts of the last couple years. It felt like a throwback to an early 2010s drama in a good way. Familiar and comforting but with a lovable cast and standout leads. 8/10

Love in the Big City (2024, Korea) - One of the shows where I feel the distinction between BL and Queer Media may be pedantic but relevant. Amazing and moving show full of things I crave: powerful and memorable characters with solid writing. Heartily recommend. 9/10

Good Manager (2017, Korea) - Again a bit of a throwback feel hampered a bit, imo, by uneven writing for the male lead that always fell just shy of truly good to land with me. A bit of tsundere bromance in our male leads made up for it, though. 8.5/10

Lovely Runner (2024, Korea) - Again a fantastic throwback of a show with vibes of School 2015. Loved the twists and turns of time travel and the supporting cast. The chemistry of the leads was solid. A standout in a few otherwise lackluster years. 9/10

Rewatches

Cruel City (2013, Korea) - Still, in my opinion, one of the best KDramas, hands down. A little silly with the plot convolutions but Jung Kyung Ho’s portrayal of Doctor’s Son remains raw and haunting. His dysfunctional crime family still live vibrant in my heart. 10/10

My Father is Strange (2017, Korea) - A perennial comfort watch that remains one of the best crafted shows I’ve seen with one of the best redemptions stories in all of media - and I don’t say that lightly. Full of lovable characters that basically give me 4 romcoms in one. 10/10

Completed Movies

Hidden Blade (2023, China) - Tony Leuhng and Wang Yibo? Yes, absolutely. Never rose above the sum of its parts but was riveting none-the-less 9/10

Method (2017, Korea) - The toxic old man yaoi that keeps the constitution strong. 8/10

Marry My Dead Body (2022, Taiwan) - Absolutely fantastic, excellent time had by all, with good rewatch value. The queer buddy cop comedy we all deserve. 8/10

Dropped

Reborn Rich (2022, Korea) - Just got bored and I’ve never been enough of a Song Joong Ki fangirl for him to carry a show for me.

War of Y (2022, Thailand) - Def. Understand why this is an important show for BL lovers, just struggled connecting with any of the characters enough to care about watching more.

Kokdu: Season of Deity (2023, Korea) - Really wanted to like this one because I enjoy Kim Jung Hyun and wanted him to be good coming back from his ‘scandal’. It just felt like the Wish version of better shows like Goblin or My Love from the Star.

Ameiro Paradox (2022, Japan) - Just kept forgetting to watch more episodes then gave up. Obviously just wasn’t compelled enough.

Cherry Magic (2023, Thailand) - Might have kept up with this if its production company hadn’t gone all fucky with international access. Not sure if its available now, didn’t care enough about the little I did see to bother checking.

4Minutes (2024, Thailand) - This is all down to weak writing. I found myself yelling in annoyance at the screen more than enjoying anything about it. It’s ok, Bible, I still love you.

Century of Love (2024, Thailand) - Somehow the writer just didn’t know how to make enjoyable characters despite having all the right archetypes. Found one of the male leads so one note and flat I couldn’t keep watching.

Ok now on to the things I am looking forward to watching:

Stranger Season 2 (2020, Korea) - (for itself but also because they gave Prosecutor Seo, my favorite terrible cockroach, his own show)

Adventure Behind the Bronze Door (2024, China) - My life has been distinctly lackluster since I’ve had a DMBJ vehicle in my life

A Shop for Killers (2024, Korea) - Will not lie, this is 100% because Primary did the soundtrack and I love it.

Bad and Crazy (2021, Korea) - Absolutely for Lee Dong Wook and N

Guardians of the Dafeng (2024, China) - Dylan Wang. Enough said.

Fangs of Fortune (2024, China) - I have Heard Things

Immortality - [uncontrollable sobbing]

[bl-bam-beyond]

The Doppelganger Series

Okay, the moment the previews for Jun & Jun began I thought the actor playing Choi Jun look familiar. Then it dawned on me.

Meet Wayne Song. Wayne is a Taiwanese Actor known by BL Audiences for HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count. With a lot of other credits under his belt. He is 28 years old. Born December 20, 1994.

Meet Ki Hyun Woo. He is a South Korean Actor just beginning his BL Series Jun and Jun. He had a bit part in Semantic Error: The Movie as a junior of Jae Young. And a support role in South Korean Drama Jinx as Min Cheol. He is 22 Year Old. Born December 27, 2000.

Why is it I think these two have a resemblance. I'm calling upon some mutuals for help and opinions. Am I crazy @pose4photoml & @lutawolf or do you see it too?

@bengiyo Could you weigh in? Do you see a resemblance?

[park-jaechan]

Semantic Error Japan [Theater Pamphlet] - Jaechan

Regarding the release of the Japanese version It has already been two years since I first presented this work to you all, and I am still grateful that many people continue to show interest. Moreover, I feel a strange sense of wonder that it will be released in Japan this time, and I am truly thankful. At the time of filming, I never imagined such things happening, so it's almost surreal to be receiving this much love.

I greeted the Japanese audience last year through KCON and MAMA, but this time, instead of a stage, I will be showcasing my acting on the movie theater screen. It feels a bit embarrassing, but I am extremely pleased that many of you are showing interest.

Memorable Moments During Filming I'm particularly sensitive to the cold, and since we filmed during winter, I have a vivid memory of seeing my breath every time I delivered lines due to the intense cold. There were moments when my mouth froze, making it difficult to speak, and I even brought hand warmers or a stove close to my face. Not only me but also other actors and staff had red ears or noses due to the cold, yet strangely, instead of finding it difficult, we thought such unconventional situations were amusing. The memory of sitting around the stove, warming our hands and mouths, comes to mind every winter. I believe that these memorable moments persist because the cold wasn't bothersome enough to overshadow the enjoyment we experienced on the set.

Favorite Scene When Sangwoo, who was in confusion, skipped school for several days, I have a strong attachment to the scene where Jaeyoung came to our house out of concern for him. This led to a fight with him. Like the saying that "it's darkest before the dawn", that moment was likely the most difficult time for Sangwoo to accept. This part was as crucial as it was in the audition script, portraying a significant conflict and confusion for Sangwoo, who was tormented before fully realizing his emotions. it was the most challenging moment for Sangwoo to accept. In the midst of the turmoil, the scene where Jaeyoung suddenly appeared, and emotions exploded in an instant was the moment I struggled the most to express. It was a collision when one is most concerned about the other person and the most confusing moment for him. I wanted to convey that emotionally painful moment even more vividly to those who watch it, despite feeling some regret when looking back now. Although there are parts that seem regrettable upon reflection, at that time, I was deeply immersed in my role. For Sangwoo, it was a crucial moment for him to experience the pain of his emotions growing, making this scene my favorite.

A scene that left a lasting impression with co-star. The scene that remains most memorable to me is when he appeared, deliberately clad from head to toe in red, a color Sangwoo detests, to make things difficult for him. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, Sangwoo is a character who lives within a predetermined routine from the moment he wakes up until he falls asleep. He sticks to the same style every day, even when putting on clothes and wearing a hat. Jaeyoung, who effortlessly disrupts everything with a single word, stands out remarkably to Sangwoo. Given Sangwoo's routine and personality, witnessing Jaeyoung casually doing things that should be impossible likely evoked a myriad of emotions. Audiences might initially laugh and wonder, 'What's with that outfit, is this a joke?!' But I felt the same way initially. However, as time passes, I believe it becomes a catalyst for Sangwoo to consciously accept Jaeyoung, who is so different from himself. Jaeyoung had a profound impact on Sangwoo, and Seoham, who portrayed him so naturally and confidently, left a lasting impression. The red tracksuit will linger in many viewers' minds after the movie ends. Whenever people see a red tracksuit around them, they will probably think of Jaeyoung. I, too, had that aftereffect for quite a while (laughs). On a personal note, it's hard to imagine using the same color to paint one's entire outfit unrelated to the project. That's how striking Jaeyoung was. Even during breaks, everyone could easily spot Seoham.

A Message to Japanese Fans Hello, this is Park Jaechan, who played the role of Sangwoo. It is an honor to greet you in this way. 'Semantic Error' is a very precious and significant piece to me. Therefore, I hope it remains as a beautiful youth romance in the hearts of everyone who watches this movie. For those who want to delve deeper into the story of Jaeyoung and Sangwoo after watching the film, I recommend checking out the series and the original work. For those who are still contemplating whether to watch the movie or not, just like the line goes, 'Don't take more than 10 minutes to decide!!'

Source: 빨간약／kusurine on X: "일본은 저작권 무서워서.. 팜프 내용을 찍어 올리긴 좀 그렇구.. 정리하면.. 1. 일본 영에러 공개에 대해 2. 촬영 중 기억에 남는 것 3. 애기가 좋아하는 장면 4. 상대 배우분과 연기한 장면 중에 인상적인 장면 5. 일본 팬분들께 한 말씀 요런 내용인데(영화관 문 닫는다고 나가래;;)" / X (twitter.com) Translated by Park Jaechan Updates

[scarefox]

Since I recently saw a few people looking for BL dramas from GMMTV on illegal sites, I just wanna let you know they are OFFICIALLY FREE on youtube on GMMTVs youtube channel already provided with english subtitles for international fans. All different genres.

I’ll send you right to the playlists of the (imo) best shows on there (if you scroll a little you might find trailer in there too):

Not Me 

A Tale of Thousand Stars

Bad Buddy (BL with GL side couple)

The Eclipse

He’s Coming To Me

Theory of Love

3 Will Be Free (m/m/f polyamory)

Vice Versa

Moonlight Chicken

Only Friends 

Dangerous Romance 

Last Twilight 

Honorable mentions that are not GMMTV but also on yt:

Lovely Writer

1. Cutie Pie, 2. Naughty Babe

Dear Uranus (taiwanese GL)

GAP the Series (thai GL)

A First Love Story (short, 2 parts)

My Engineer (worth it for Ram & King)

1. Until We Meet Again, 2. Between Us (cut version)

My Only 12%

Love from Outta Space (short movie but cute)

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul 

HIStory 3: Trapped

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count

HIStory 2: Crossing The Line

Choco Milk Shake

Laws of Attraction

I Feel You Linger In The Air

The Sign

Spare me your Mercy

Ok, I decided to extend this list to BL / LGBTq dramas on streaming sites (still official, free no login needed):

Semantic Error

Old Fashioned Cupcake

You’re My Sky

Manner of Death (if vip try vpn to unlock)

Utsukushii Kare / My Beautiful Man

Kieta Hatsukoi / My Love Mix-Up!

Color Rush

A Man Who Defies the World of BL

You Make Me Dance

To My Star

Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!

1. I told Sunset About You, 2. Last Twilight in Phuket, 3. I Promised You the Moon

Depending on your region you might need a vpn set to Thailand / Japan / South Korea / Philippines, but for me sitting in Germany it works without vpn. Earth VPN or Urban VPN are good addons for Chrome.

Sometimes the subs don’t show on we.tv just reload the page then.

Some shows cut versions are free. Their uncut versions are usually on payment streaming sites with vip membership like iQIYI, Viki Rakuten, we.tv, GagaOOLala, ch3+ / Ch3Thailand. Uncut usually contain longer ‘bed & kiss scenes’ but sometimes unfortunately also cut bits of plot since they are shortened for asian TV channels or because of yt guidelines. 

Regarding Trigger Warnings pls check for yourself. MyDramaList works good for that with their tags on the shows pages (click on “Vote or add tags” it will show all tags but also spoiler tags which are marked red) !! don’t read comments on MDL for your own good cause they are toxic af in there !!

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids,

it's Pride Month, so I have an excuse to talk about my favorite lgbt+ media with you - and today I want to share my favorite Asian gay dramas with you. All of those are available with English subtitles.

Note: these are my personal opinions - taste is subjective. These are all mlm (I guess that's just what I gravitate towards when picking something to watch) but the first one also has a wlw couple!

CW for "Until we meet again" (suicide and death mention).

Bad Buddy (Thai series): My absolute favorite series that I just can't shut up about. Think Romeo and Julia, but in a modern setting and gay. This series manages to be funny and have that comforting rom-com feeling while still having a solid, emotionally stirring plot. It subtly turns a lot of overused tropes in gay movies on their heads and the acting is so good. Also has one of the best kissing scenes ever.

You can watch it on Youtube.

Wish You (Korean movie): A soft and sweet comfort movie (no homophobia, no tragedy, just a love story!). The plot is very simple: A keyboarder and a singer fall in love. But the simplicity is what makes it so incredibly beautiful. The storytelling is subtle and gentle - it really doesn’t need a lot of dialogue or action, their eyes tell you more than words could. This movie just feels like a comforting hug.

You can watch it on Netflix and Rakuten Viki.

2gether (Thai series): Funny, sweet and comforting. This one holds a special place in my heart as it became my safe haven during quarantine. The plot is... well, don't think about the plot too hard. It doesn't really make that much sense. But it has a fake relationship that leads to real feelings and it feels very much like a cheesy fanfic, and sometimes that's exactly what you need.

You can watch it on Youtube.

Until we meet again (Thai series): We are moving away from the funny, sweet ones here. This one also has some light-hearted rom-com moments but it overall has a really heavy, intense feeling. It heavily(!) deals with suicide and death. A gay couple that lives during a homophobic time commits suicide together - and is reborn 30 years later in a more supportive time. (I feel like they were careful to not romanticize or glorify suicide which is very important with a plot like that). I can't remember ever crying this much during a series! It's heartbreaking and at the same time so important. Definitely a strong anti-suicide and anti-homophobia message.

You can watch it on Youtube and Rakuten Viki.

Color Rush (Korean movie): Supernatural mystery romance. It plays in a world where some people can not see colors - unless they meet their one special person. A little bit on the creepy side, especially Part 2, but also sweet and romantic! A good choice if you want something more thrilling than your usual love story. Deals with discrimination in a creative way by not focusing on real-world homophobia and still having messages that apply to the real world.

You can watch it on Rakuten Viki.

Semantic Error (Korean series): I think they never explicitly say that the lead is neurodivergent but this still very much felt like neurodivergent representation. A student exposes his classmate for not putting any effort into a group project and by doing so, messes up his plans to study abroad... It's an "enemies to lovers" and "opposites attract" type of story but never veers into problematic territory. They don't overdo the "enemies" part and the series did a great job on showing consent, especially with a main character who doesn't like (spontaneous) touch.

You can watch this on Rakuten Viki.

Not Me (Thai series): I'm taking a little risk by including this one - I am currently watching this, so I don't know the ending yet! But I already love it so much that I feel justified in already including it in my favorites. A man disguises himself as his twin in order to discover who attacked him and put him in a coma. It's thrilling and fast-paced and a bit more violent than I usually like - but it's so deep and dives into so many important topics. Social justice, anti-capitalism, disability rights, to just name a few. If you feel like most love stories are too superficial and predictable, you'll love this.

You can watch this on Youtube.

Bonus: Until we meet again and 2gether feature lgbt+ actors (not the entire cast), Bad Buddy was directed by a gay man and Not Me by a trans woman!

With all my love,

Your Tumblr Dad

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: February 2022 ~  

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Dailymotion and Youtube. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post!

Updates coming every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green tick = seen or currently watching)

🌟 Scent of Love - February 1st (Thailand)

🌟 Kissable Lips - February 3rd (South Korea)

🌟 49 Days With a Merman - February 6th (Taiwan)

🌟 Restart(ed) - February 6th (Thailand)

🌟 2Gether The Movie - February 11th (Thailand, Disney+ Hotstar)

🌟 Secret Crush On You - February 11th (Thailand)

🌟 First Love Again - February 11th (South Korea)

🌟 In Your Heart - February 11th (China)

🌟 Papa What Is Love? - February 14th (Philippines)

🌟 Semantic Error - February 16th (South Korea)

🌟 7 Days 7 Boys - February 17th  (Laos)

🌟 Our Days - February 18th (Thailand)

🌟 Cutie Pie - February 19th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Cupid’s Last Wish - February 21st (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Nah Han the Series (bl sideplot) - February 21st (Thailand)

🌟 Oh! Boarding House - February 22nd (South Korea) 

🌟 Boy Scouts - February 23rd (Thailand) 

🌟 Cherry Blossoms After Winter - February 24th (South Korea)

🌟 I’m Your Boyy - February 24th (Thailand)

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ Cutie Pie - loving it so far!! The production quality is top-tier, which I did not expect. The filming + editing is really nice too and not the mention the cast is 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻. Kuea is an interesting little fella lol and Zee as Lian is just hitting the nail on the head lmao. Their dynamic is interesting (albeit a bit inconclusive) and I’m also curious to see how Diao and Yi’s relationship will develop since I’m still in the dark about what’s going on between them lol. I’m excited for more!!!

New series announcements

🎥  Love in the Air (produced by MeMindY) - Date TBA (Thailand) -> first teaser

🎥  Y You Y Me (bl sideplot) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  Forever Yours - Date TBA (Philippines) 

🎥  Intern In My Heart (bl sideplot) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  Big Dragon The Series (starring Mos Panuwat and Bank Montop) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  On Cloud Nine - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  The Eighth Sense - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥  Buddy Line Y Animal - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥  Boxer In Heart - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥  Love Syndrome Part 3 - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  End Love The Series (novel adaption) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  Memories in Letters (novel adaption) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  7 Days Before Valentines - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥  Killing Stalking (webtoon adaption) - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥  Call My Name (starring Win Thanakom and Bonz Nadol (En of Love)) - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the bl world

❗️After the site’s shutdown, LINETV announced that their original series will be available on their new platform LINE TODAY, starting Feb 1st. The site is only accessible in Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. VPN does apply. 

❗️The WeTV event “WeTV Unbox 2022″ included the following announcements for their originals this year: - First teaser for Love Mechanics - New series announcement: Y You Y Me (bl sideplot) - The cast for I Feel You Linger In The Air: Bright Rapheephong & Nonkul Chanon

❗️Toptap Jirakit and Fame Chawinroj (My Ride) will be the side couple in the upcoming drama “Intern In My Heart”.

❗️KinnPorsche will air on April 2nd 2022. An official trailer will be released on March 4th.

❗️Cherry Magic: The Movie will premiere on April 8th 2022.

❗️Junior Ronnakorn (Gen Y) and Tiger Tanawat will star in the upcoming Thai BL “Boxer In Heart”. 

❗️The upcoming Thai BL “Between Us” was announced to premiere in November 2022. The first trailer was released on Feb 20th.

❗️The upcoming Thai BL “My Only 12 Percent” (starring SantaEarth) was announced to be released on August 12th 2022.

❗️The ongoing Thai BL “Cupids Last Wish” is currently unavailable for international viewers, much to the dislike of all of us lol. GMMTV announced that it will be available on their youtube channel soon.

❗️Copy A Bangkok released a teaser with the hashtag #warofyaudition which features some of their actors, talking about the bl industry. The video suggests that the company is currently looking for new bl actors. Further details are yet to be announced. 

Upcoming series & movies for March

☝🏻 My Ride (international release) - March 4th (Thailand) 

☝🏻 The Tuxedo - March 5th (Thailand)

☝🏻 La Cuisine - March 12th (Thailand)

☝🏻 DNA Says I Love You - March 14th (Taiwan)

☝🏻 Boku mo Aitsu mo Shinrodesu (alt. title: both him and I are the grooms) - March 14th (Japan)  

☝🏻 Blue of Winter - March 15th (South Korea) 

☝🏻 The Man Who Defies the World of BL 2 - March 20th (Japan) 

☝🏻 Dear Doctor - March 23rd (Thailand) 

☝🏻 The Miracle of Teddy Bear - March 27th (Thailand)

☝🏻 Blueming - March TBA (South Korea)

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Josi, my heart, Kinnporsche is finally over and it left a hole in my life so I need something new to hyperfixate lol. Being new to BL and all, I have come to you to ask for recommendations!!! -I already decided to check out Old fashion cupcake and Manner of Death - but please what else, tell meeee ❤️

My dear Dids, it made me so happy when I found your ask in my inbox! Thank you 🥰

I understand you so well! I love hyperfixating too and after KinnPorsche it is difficult to find something to fill this hole, but there is so much great stuff out there! Manner of death and Old fashion cupcake - good choices! Especially Old fashion cupcake! It is just soooo good!

For the following recommendations, I tried to find kind of a system 😅 (it will be a long post - so many good things out there)

Currently airing

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry

Senpai, Danjite Koidewa!

Two japanese bls with cute stories away from the typical college bl.

Love mechanics

I am a sucker for YinWar and especially Veemark, so I love this series. If you don't like cheating stories or pain, just ignore this one 😉

Taiwanese

We best love 1 + 2 - enemies to friends to lovers. Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De will always have a place in my heart! Part 1 takes place in college. Part 2 takes place five years later and is more mature than the first one. And as soon as I heard Sam Lin's (Gao Shi De) voice, I was sold - he could have just read the local phone book and I would have watched/listened to him for hours doing so.

Be loved in house: I do - The chemistry is all over the screen for the main couple. And I fell in love with their story so hard! This show is just my safe place where I can go to after a difficult day. It is nothing special and nothing big, but it melts my heart with its softness.

DNA says love you - A really good story! With some twists and lovable characters. The character's actions and reactions were comprehensible and I needed some tissues.

Japanese

Cherry Magic - A quite unique story. The main couple are just the sweetest honey buns.

Old Fashion Cupcake - Would scream my love for this from the top of a mountain.

Life: Love on the line (director's cut) - The movie follows the life of Akira and Yuuki. So, for once, we learn what happens when the main couple finally get together.

Korean

Semantic Error - it is just good. You have a good looking cast with a good written story and really good chemistry between the couple - the perfect mixture!

Long time no see - Something for when you are looking for action and blood and story and chemistry and a love story. It caught me by surprise, I wasn't prepared for the good quality of this one. (the production complany "Strongberry" is specialized in queer media and everything I watched so far produced by them was very good)

Color Rush - This one has a very unique story with a little bit more depth than one would think at first glance.

Thai

He's coming to me - oh this was so good! My expectations weren't that high and in the end I was blown away by the quality and the story and the acting and just everything! Especially the acting was over the top! Highly recommend this little gem!

Triage - This was nothing what I thought it would be. Not just a hospital story. This was so much more - thriller, romance, science fiction, drama...and very well executed.

Bad Buddy - the one that set the bars for every bl coming after it really high 😅 It is definitely good, especially the acting!

A tale of thousand stars - This is one of my feel good series. It is sweet and innocent. It is not perfect, but I would always recommend it, because I love it!

I have to cut here or I'll never find an end 😅

I hope I could give you some inspiration and you find something you can enjoy and hyperfixate on a little bit🙃

[feuqueerfire]

2022 Overview (Shows, Ships) + Stats

Includes the BLs, GLs, and non-queerlove shows/movies/specials/shorts I’ve watched this year.

*Some ratings have changed after posting this but I'll just keep it here, go to MDL or my 2022 Masterlist to check if any changed

Favourite Shows

The shows released before 2022 will have (release year) beside them.

Top 3 4 Shows watched in 2022:

Bad Buddy

Not Me

The Eclipse = His (2020) 

Bad Buddy and Not Me were delightful binges that stayed in my brain for months after I finished watching and they’re still so good nearly a year later. The Eclipse was my first show that I watched while on-air and I think just the fact that I managed to not lose interest earns its spot; it was a great show in general and had me think so many thoughts. His (2020) took me by surprise with just how much I enjoyed it because it’s an older movie that’s not as hyped as the other 3 but wow, it touched me. 

The next 2 - tied:

Badhaai Do

Semantic Error

These didn’t quite manage to be my absolute favourites of the year but they’re two favourites nonetheless. Badhaai Do really touched me with the queer South Asian content and I thought they balanced the sadness and fun moments well. Semantic Error was truly so great and it honestly could’ve been tied with The Eclipse and His if I liked the ending a bit more; I’m also maybe kind of wanting a sequel after Park Seoham comes back from the military but only if it promises to be great.

These shows worked for me, had good to great production, and also took over my mind either intensely while I was watching or for weeks afterward (or both) - tied:

To Sir, With Love

But I'm A Cheerleader (1999)

UtsuKushii Kare (My Beautiful Man)

Graduation, Present + Propose (Strongberry Short)

Blueming

The Gifted (non-QL) (2018)

The Gifted: Graduation (non-QL) (2020)

The Handmaiden (2016)

Secret Crush On You

We're Both Grooms

Life: Love on the Line (2020)

KinnPorsche

Love Mechanics

P.S. I Hate You (non-QL)

Intensely took over my life when watching but I got overstimulated so I haven’t thought much about since even though the production and my investment were both great: To Sir With Love, P.S I Hate You

Touched me in some way or was just a very good watch: But I’m A Cheerleader, The Handmaiden, We're Both Grooms, Life: Love on the Line, Graduation, Present + Propose

Realized how much I liked it or how it impacted me a few weeks after I’d finished watching: Blueming, UtsuKushii Kare

Some I just got attached to: Secret Crush On You, Love Mechanics, The Gifted

KinnPorsche gets it own category because I intensely hate parts of it and disliked the main characters (Kinn and Porsche) by the end but like... the acting, cinematography, VegasPete story (even though it was rushed and the after-credits was a bit hm) and how they took up my brain for months afterwards (I still read VP fic). It feels like I can’t rate it lower because of all that. This isn’t to the show’s credit but the 3 or so Kinn/Porsche fics I read before watching the show were incredible as well - this may actually be to the show’s detriment because I came in more than ready to love the show and the main pair, how did you make me manage to dislike these characters damn. 

These were generally good but just something was missing - either there was a production/story/acting issue that was bothering me a lot or the production was very good but it failed to take up any brain space after I finished watching. 

Love In The Air

Tale of a Thousand Stars

Summer Pasta Recipe (Strongberry Short)

A First Love Story (Strongberry short)

SOTUS S

Theory of Love

His - I Didn't Mean To Fall In Love

Do Revenge

No Touching At All (2014)

Love and Leashes (non-QL)

Ghost Host, Ghost House

My Secret Love

Love of Secret

High enjoyment or fondness, lacked in either production/acting/writing: No Touching At All (this one gave me brainworms for only a short period but it was still severe and had me making gifs bruv), Ghost Host, Ghost House, Do Revenge (the writing kinda fell apart at the end)

High production/acting, but lacked in making me care or be as invested as I should’ve been: Tale of a Thousand Stars, SOTUS S, Theory of Love, Love and Leashes

The Strongberry shorts were too short but A First Love Story is still great. Love of Secret is also good enough for being as short as it is but would’ve been better as a longer show that we could sink our teeth into.

Love in the Air is fucked because I didn’t care much about Payu/Rain’s half (although they were cute enough) but I was so deeply invested in Sky/Pai despite despising their beginning eps and disliking Pai. I loved the couple in the last few eps and also ep 13 had me going through it idk.

these had medium levels of both production and fondness but not enough to think about often or be great: His - I Didn't Mean To Fall In Love, My Secret Love

Special Mentions: The rest of the shows I watched were rated lower than that, though there were still a few that I have some fondness for because I like the concept or the acting pair or it just gave me something I wanted. This includes Cupid’s Last Wish, Fish Upon The Sky (2021), School's Out, Let's Date Now! (2021), Love In The Air Special, History 2: Right or Wrong (2018), He She It (2019). 

Favourite Pairs (characters):

PatPran: my delightful couple, so good for each other and so good to each other T.T working to meet in the middle and always on each other’s sides T.T for my favourite ships that are cute and delightful like this, usually they at least have intense codependency issues (one of my fave tropes fr) but PatPran don’t even have that! doing what needs to be done with their family and with long distance and just :’) The fact that we’re getting Our Skyy 2 with them is sooooooooo good to me

VegasPete: the opposite of PatPran. just sooooo rancid but it’s great and gross. The post-canon possibilities for them are endless, how am I still reading fic months later? I used to mostly read fics where they slowly heal together with Macau in their own place but recently I’ve also been obsessed with fics where the dynamics are a little fucked up, Pete doesn’t verbalize his discomfort during nsfw scenes, Vegas has breakdowns, etc. so good either way. don’t really want a sequel for them but AO3 writers are keeping me fed, thank you.

SeanWhite: they’re great, really enjoyed their dynamics and progression. made me feel like they’re both invested rather than one just chasing after the other. also read a few fics after finishing the show. 

Special Mentions: 

SkyPai are here somehow? I hated Prapai and how he was stalking Sky and hurting him in the earlier eps but then... somehow... amidst my irritation... I started liking them together a lot because Sky started liking him. By the last 3 eps and the special, I was so on board agh

Aye/Akk belong here with how much I’ve thought about them but it’s just that I was so into them for the 2.5 months while watching but haven’t thought about them much in the 2 months since the show finished. Our Skyy 2 eps might make me lose my mind though who knows

VeeMark had me watching tiktoks of them being cute before I’d even started the show man

does ToddBlack count if I was only obsessed with them for like 2 weeks and wrote a fic in a daze in that time? they’re still so interesting though

Punn/Claire from Gifted (2018) is an older show and it’s a het couple but they’re so <333

Kiyoi/Hira are so. like what do i even say. brainworm inducing dynamics. they make me feral. can’t wait for the movie to do me i

Favourite Pairs (actors):

KhaoFirst is my current favourite pairing, though I’ve started keeping up with them less than when I was watching the Eclipse. They’re just two very good actors and endearing people, so I keep up with them casually and am interested in seeing what they have next. I also like them as individual actors, so I’m a little disappointed they don’t have non-ship related shows next year (hopefully Moonlight Chicken won’t pair them up though)

I was very into OhmNanon after watching Bad Buddy and OffGun after watching Not Me but both lasted like 1 month or 2 and now i’m back to being very peripherally interested/almost uninterested in them as people, though I remain interested in them as actors.

I was also into YinWar for a bit after watching Love Mechanics and I want them to have a show next year so bad, whether it be Partner in Crime or not

idk what happened with netjames but i’m randomly into them recently and can’t wait for bed friend. Net especially is so beautiful

I’ve started following an account that translates PondPhuwin stuff, so I’m kinda interested in them and that might increase after I start watching Never Let Me Go

I’ve only watched a few videos of Seoham and Jaechan outside of their show but I do keep an eye on their rise, especially Jaechan since he’s not in the military and is rather in the public eye

Favourite Side Pairs

A few ships were really great and sometimes I liked them even more than the main couple and for a few, I’m excited for their upcoming main series. (Doing this in 2023 after this has been posted bc I like seeing NuerSyn in Cutie Pie 2 You)

InkPa (Bad Buddy): they held their own against PatPran, which is a feat in itself and I’m excited for their GL series 23.5

NuerSyn (Cutie Pie): bro they’re sooooo cute, my fave couple out of Cutie Pie for sure, I love them so bad and getting glimpses of them in Cutie Pie 2 You is great. 

RamKing (My Engineer): this isn’t unexpected, though I don’t love them quite as much as other people

PunnClaire (The Gifted): I love them, can’t believe they broke up ahhh the way Claire protected Punn from himself T.T

TouchDaisy (Secret Crush On You): I’m so mad they weren’t there more tf I loved them they were so cute

PuKhun (PS I Hate You): they were great, wish they had more screentime. glad the gays got a happy ending even though nobody else did. also i was won over by Pluem/Pat and Mond/Aye’s character’s couples by the end

ParkLee (My Secret Love): the established couple for 7 years ahh cute

Not Me could’ve been here if they gave me ToddBlack, GramNuch, EugeneNamo

Biggest Disappointments

To be a disappointment, I had to have at least semi-high hopes

Cutie Pie: This was one of my most anticipated of the year because I love the arranged marriage trope in fics and thought the hidden identity aspect would be so fun as well but yeah, shit writing rip didn’t like how they dealt with the tropes or characters or plot and it’s so frustrating to think about the wasted potential. hopefully domundi gets better writers for next year’s works because they’ve got a very intriguing batch

Cupid’s Last Wish: Also another of my most anticipated of the year because Win is in Lin’s body but despite being in a girl body, we and his love interest see him as a boy... ah so good of a concept. it wasn’t terrible and it delivered on the fun gender front but the writing for it was also weak

KinnPorsche: i’ve talked about this before but the writing is seriously such a big weakness for this show because how did you ruin Kinn and Porsche for me by the end and the plot is a mess

General Stats

Number of shows/movies/specials/shorts watched: 104 (+2 DNFs - these won’t be counted in the following stats) (also the Our Skyy appeared multiple times on my life bc I was watching one ep at a time but I counted them all as 1 show)

Release Date 2022 vs Earlier: 40 vs 64

QL vs non-QL: 97 vs 7 (rip)

BL vs GL (mains only. can be 0.5 if there are main couples of diff variations): idk like 104-7-13 = ~84 vs 13. 

The GLs I watched this year were all youtube shorts or had 1-3 hours of runtime and most of them were from before 2022. Since I’ve watched these already, next year might have fewer shows in terms of numbers but maybe longer runtime depending on what’s released next year (though there are some shorter ones from this year also that i haven't finished watching)

# of shows per month: ~8, 13, 15, 8, 12, 8, 6, 8, 5, 11, 4, 6

average rating: 5.87 (💀 umm I think I'll try to better choose the shows I watch next year)

[yuhaosturtle]

BL Tag Game

thank you sumaya @morksuns for tagging me!💕💖 I haven't done one of these in so long it was fun to see how things have changed!

1. Your all time favourite bl and why

you know... for the longest time it was history2: crossing the line. It's been so long that I can't believe I'm saying this... but recently? color rush 👀 (and semantic error is looking at me too hshshs). I'm a sucker for the soulmate trope

2. That one bl that scarred you for life

I'm not sure there is one tbh? I only watched history3: modc via gifs/clips when it aired so I wasn't that invested. and I've always skipped the kengkla parts in lbc. I joined the fandom when most problematic shows had already aired too so I knew to stay away from them. so maybe sotus or addicted? those were some of my first bls and... they're not the best lmao.

omg no wait you know what really scarred me? the novel to addicted. bc after I watched the show I wanted to know what happens afterwards and 😬 don't recommend that one.

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

most of them? but tbh saifahzon in why r u? made me feel extra single bc they're just so gentle with each other and I want that someday. also wangxian in the untamed.

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

someone tell xi gu that he can season his food with soy sauce if the salt is out, no need to get run over

5. Your top 5?

that question is just not fair. how can I decide? idek what shows I've watched in the last years hshshs. my top shows are just ones I like, not ones I think are the best. ok here we go, an attempt at my top 5:

1. color rush --- 2. cherry magic --- 3. history2: crossing the line (nostalgia) --- 4. light on me --- 5. semantic error --- 6. theory of love

yes these are 5 please avert your eyes lmao. tbh this changes constantly and I probably forgot half of the shows I love so take this with a grain of salt (or soy sauce). also not me the series is a valid contender but I'm writing this before the finale airs!

6. that trashy bl that you lowkey like

I enjoy watching trashy shows tbh. atm it's probably cutie pie the series

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

color rush!! I just love the whole concept and setup. it's about the angst for me

8. but also your top 3 for kbls

oh this is hard...ok I can just copy from my top 5:

1. color rush --- 2. light on me --- 3. semantic error --- 4. where your eyes linger

yes this is 3 idk what you're talking abt. (also why are so many of these school themed?)

9. Season 2? Which one?

tbh I wish we would get less second seasons... I think a good standalone show is lovely. of course I love the couples but not every story needs a pt2 just because it's popular, sometimes I wish ppl would let it rest 😅

that being said, I'm really excited about the cherry magic movie and to my star s2! since the couples only got together at the very end it makes more sense to me to have a s2.

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

I'm not really informed about everything that'll air if I'm honest. I mostly decide to watch a show after a couple of eps have aired and I see gifs of them that intrigue me. I'm excited about kinnporsche though (is that even a bl?)! other than that I will probably start enchante and cherry blossoms after winter soon, but those are already airing

11. favourite underrated bls?

I think mr. heart is such a cute show! I also think that lovely writer has fallen under the rock a bit but that show was so good too!

12. Tag them!

how to make manja anxious 101 🙈 I'm on-and-off here too much to have regular interactions, so if you see this and want to do this go ahead and tag me! I want to see ppl's rankings 👀

[bombardthehq]

Hallucinations as top-down effects on perception Powers et al, 2016, read 27-28.06.20

a review of the state of the literature of top-down effects on perception in neuroscience; and then applies it to hallucinations (we're reading for the first part, but we'll take the second too)

They say 'present-day cognitive scientists' argue cognition does *not* influence perception. They cite: Firestone C, Scholl BJ (2015): Cognition does not affect perception: Evaluating the evidence for 'top-down' effects [in sense do they use 'perception'? perhaps more like Roftopoulos restricted sense? also: this shouldn't be seen as argument against the penetrability of 'perceptual belief' in Lyons 2011]

but 'work in computational neuroscience' challenges this view, & they also think hallucinations pose a challenge to 'srict, encapsulated modularity' [Fodor]; they'll illustrate it with 'phenomenology(!) and neuro-computational work'

MODULES OF THE MIND

Fodor shout out! they give a summary of his modular parsers - "for example, theearly vision module takes in ambient lightand outputs color representations" - which are cognitively penetrable only in a very strict, delineated way.

Fodor's modules are annoying for scientists because they're pooly defined, so difficut to falsify. Some 'ultra-cognitive neuropsychologists' even claim that the brain 'hardware' is irrelevant to the 'software' they're interested in & resist empirical evidence!

a strict modular approach requires 'functional segregation', with different parts of the brain doing different things inaccessibly to one another, but evidence supports an 'integrationism' of the brain [we saw this with the knots "Vetter & Newen" were tying themselves into]

the authors prefer "predictive coding" [like O'Callaghan et al], which they use to model the integrated mind via "functional and effective connectivity data" [a whole new language of buzzwords to learn!]

PREDICTIVE PERCEPTION IMPLIES COGNITIVE PENETRATION

while perception that corresponds to truth would be adaptive, perception that allows misbelief could also be adaptive if the misbeliefs are adaptive

we might, per Hume & Heimholtz, 'perceive what would need to be there for our sensations to make sense'

so the brain uses both bottom-up information and top-down inferences, as Heimholtz argued [fascinating - who was that guy?]

it uses the top-down inferences to 'compute precision-weighted prediction errors' to arrie at 'an optimal estimation' - cite a bunch of 'predictive coding' & 'attention' papers

top-down has a long history in neuroscience, from the 80s

Friston K (2005): A theory of cortical responses -- the origin of 'predictive coding'

contra Fodor, some studies claim that 'early visual processing' ('perception' in Roftopoulos) is influenced by 'non-perceptual information' ... "semantic priming increasesspeed and accuracy of detection by minimizing prediction error" ... " Word contexts result inambiguous shapes being perceived as themissing letters that complete aword" ... a bunch of others

THE BURDEN OF PROOF: ESTABLISHING TOP-DOWN INFERENCES IN PERCEPTION

they go over Firestone & Scholl's criticisms of the 'new look' research

they say that they're plagued w/ problems that can be avoided by following these guidelines:

1. Disentangle perceptual from decisional processes 2. Dissociatereaction time effects from primary perceptual changes 3. Avoid demand characteristics 4. Ensure adequate low-level stimulus control 5. Guarante eequal attentional allocation across conditions.

these issues are inherent to tasks where perception guides a behaviour decision (so research would have to be done without that)

but a 'Bayesian formulation' doesn't permit this distinction; 'Signal Detection Theory' appears to, but it also allows cognition to influence perception.

"Top-down processes can even alter the mechanical properties of sensory organs by alteringthe signal-to-noise ratio" [wow]

they will argue that top-down influence is clearest 'when sensory input is completely absent'-- 'when experiences are hallucinated'

HALLUCINATIONS AS EXAMPLES OF TOP-DOWN PENETRATION

Hallucinations can be consistent w/ affective states; guilt & disease when depressed, etc.

hallucinations are fairly common in even 'non-clinical' cases; they occur in 28% of the population -- hallucinations may be 'an extreme of normal functioning', not a 'failure of modularity'

they give some support for hallucinations being top-down: "prior knowledge of a visual scene conferredanadvantage in recognizing a degraded version of that image" & patients at risk for psychosis were 'particularly susceptible to this advantage'; similarly, patients who were taught to associate a difficult-to-detect noise w/ a visual stimuli began hearing it when shown the visual w/out the noise -- esp. patients 'who hallucinate'

experiences of uncertainty increase the influence of top-down

they feel that studying penetrability via hallucinatory experiences gets around the problems Firestone & Scholl identify; neuroimaging might do it too

now they'll try to integrate this understanding of halluciations as top-down w/ 'notions of neural modularity and connectivity'

BRAIN LESIONS, MODULARITY, CONNECTIVIT AND HALLUCINATIONS

They propose that "inter-regional effects" mediate top-down influence on perception

these are often discussed in terms of 'attention'; 'predictive coding' theory conceives of attention as 'the precision of priors' and 'prediction errors'

a bit of statistics jargon for modelling we don't care about, although they make the interesting equivalence between 'change over time' (uncertainty) and 'predictive relationship between states' (reliability) [difference & repetition baby!] -- the gist is that all this stuff is a promising, plausible explanation of some difficult areas of the data but ['precision weighting'] is still waiting on more empirical trials

so someone walking home after watching a scary movie might have 'precise' enough 'priors', ie. a strongly-weighted 'background theory' (in Fodor's terms), to actually see the shadows on the street as being darker than they are... & if they were precise enough, strong enough, they'd really hallucinate

their support: a single case where a lesion caused hallucinations; 'functional connectivity' between the lesion location ad othre regions; 'effective (directioal) connectivity' in patients w/ Audo-Visual Hallucinations

they'll use these to argue that 'top-down priors' influence perception, contra strict encapsulation

1. lesion-induced hallucinosis

with 'graph-theory' fMRIs of the brain are parsed into 'hubs (sub-networks)', with a subset of regions connecting those sub-networks ('connectors'). see:

lesions are more likely in 'rich-club hubs', regions that mediate long-range connectivity between connected information processing hubs

the limbic system is a rich-club hub & has been implicated in 'the global specification of' precision weighting

it is not, however, part of *early perception*; they'll instead show "regions like orbitofrontal cortexpenetrate perceptual processing in primary sensory cortices giving rise to hallucinations"

~this part gets very heavy on the neuroscience & is beyond me - but the gist is that they're able to look at which hubs do what & how that gets disrupted by lesioins. It appears that there are definitely such things as modules like Fodor's parser, responsible for different faculties, & which parts of the brain these are found in is well settled - its just that these seem to be cognitively penetrable bc of how they behave with lesions. However, these are not 'proof' of it, just 'candidate' explanations for penetration

2. lesion effects on graph theory metrics

re: connectivity, lesions are more disruptive, & can be disruptive of the whole brain, when they occur in between-module connectios (rich club hubs); & they alter connectivity in opposing, un-lesioned hemispheres [this is a challenge for 'cognitive neuropsychology' - the sophist-like 'cognitivists' from before]

"We suggest that the rich-club hubs that alter global network function ... are also the hubs involved in specifying global precision and therefore updating of inference in predictive coding" -- & thats how early perception is cognitively penetrated (ie. 'higher' priors re: precision are mediated by the same stuff that mediate 'predictive coding' in early perception) [note this is a 'suggestion', but they do give a study in support]

there *may* be a connection w/ schizophrenia and lesions in these areas, but it hasnt really been shown yet; but some neuropsychiatrists do work off of this

"In our predictive coding approach informational integration (between modules) is mediated via precision weighting of priors and prediction errors, perhaps through rich club hubs" -- but "the exact relationshipbetween psychological 9modularity and modularity in functional connectivity remains an open empirical question."

ie. percetion is cognitively penetrated because 'predictive coding' (used in early perception) is mediated by a 'precision weighting' of 'priors and prediction errors' via rich club hubs

3. directional effects

'Dynamic causal modeling' (DCM) is a way of looking for 'directional' connectivity in fMRI data

one study examining 'inner speech processing' found very little connectivity "from Wernicke’s to Broca’s areas" in schizophrenic patients w/ auditory hallucinations (vs. schizophrenic patients without them) -- suggesting 'precision of processing in Broca's was higher than in Wernicke's'

they say that this data is consstent w/ informaton from 'higher' regions penetrating lower regions

[Wernicke's area is involved in comprehension of written & spoken language, while Broca's area is involved in the production of language; the idea here is that the patients who experienced auditory hallucinations woud also, when processing language, rely more on the higher level functions of Broca's area for precision weighting and much less so on the earlier perception of Wernicke's area]

'predictions' are top-down (ie. 'flow from less to more laminated cortices') while 'prediction errors' are bottom-up (the opposite) [what are 'prediction errors'? maybe like an 'error warning'?]

a lot of neuroscience stuff about the insula, priors, and lots of things I dont understand, which I dont need to note; the conclusion is tat they speculative that rich club hubs are "well placed to implement changes in gain control as a function of the precision of predictions and prediction errors." [ie. rich club hubs are the 'court' and 'court of appeals' of the brain, 'hearing' prediction & prediciton errors & itself 'sentencing' gain control changes]

another paragraph of studies showing similar things, this time with 'bi-stable perception', percepts that switch dominance 'on their own' (without a change in sensory input) -- this happes more in schizophrenics, but currently hasnt been looked at w/r/t hallucinations specifically

DISCUSSION & FUTURE DIRECTIONS

a summary of the above

their argument is that the data is inconsistent with 'an encapsulated modularity of mind'

w/r/t hallucinations, it looks like the top-down 'gain control mechanisms' ... 'sculpt' perceptions even in the absence of sensation

perception is cognitively penetrated insofar as it minimizes 'overall long-term' prediction error; so the knowing how the Muller-Lyre illusion works doesn't act on my perception because 'the illusion is Bayes optimal' - seeing in this way is more *overall long term* precise

there is some contradiction about schizophrenics & their tendency to perceive illusions - sometimes it works less, sometimes more. Thye say that this cannot be generalized & ought to be treated case by case; there is a *hierarchy* of perceptual systems and 'informaton processing can be impaired at different levels of the hierarchy'

so illusions might fail at a lower level in the hierarchy while hallucinations are generated at a higher level

they discuss work they did w/ ketamine; it doesnt normally cause hallucinations, but they found that it did in the MRI scan which is 'perceptually denuded (dark, still, rythmically noisy)'

ketamine enhances 'bottom up noise'; they argued then that sensory deprivation induces hallucination via top-down priors. "This is similar to the paradoxical effect of hearing loss and vision loss on hallucinations."

higher level precision increases to compensate for lower level prediction errors

so the increased bottom-up feed of ketamine creates prediciton errors when sensory deprived & this produces halluciations -- the priors top-down predictively organizing the error-filled bottom-up feed

so in general, hallucinations are produced by 'the dynamic interaction between priors and prediction errors'

they hint at some arguments that are strongly consonant with our own experiences of schizophrenia. Fist, that it is possible to 'conjure up' hallucinations at will. Secondly, that there are two types of hallucination - those 'with insight' (accompanied by a sense of unreality), and those 'without insight' (which feel as real as any other percept). We have always argued both of these things. [We have always argued that schizophrenia involves a kind of top-down *compulsion*, ie. I *have to* conjure this...]