#Japanese BL

[jimmysea]

There's nowhere to escape to, and I already conveyed my feelings. It's unfair.

彼のいる生活 (2024)

[kexing]

You don’t have to be perfect in front of me.

THEN vs. NOW

[bellepark]

25 JI, AKASAKA DE (2024) | 1.01

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Call each other by our first names.

[heretherebedork]

We love a boy who can communicate and does because his mom reminded him that lying, especially to himself, is bad. And so he talks. And he explains. And he is kind and he is gentle and he is scared but he is honest.

This boy is about to experience a very big mindshift. And entire flip of his mindset.

Kazuhito's world is so much warmer and brighter than Ryo's, so yellow and orange to his cold blues. I love them deeply and this boy is in love.

I love this angel and this consent king who literally won't even kiss him when he isn't sure he means it. Absolutely perfect. We love a man who wants his kisses to be real and thought out and not just a momentary thing to be regretted. Love it here, @absolutebl, Japan jumping into the consent game again with both feet.

I love him so much. I love them so much. Because Ryo's world is much brighter when we're closer in on the two of them, though not as bright as Kazuhito's world. What a perfect confession between them two of them.

I adore a confession like this and I love them both, they're so tiny and so soft and so sweet. Beloved boys!

The cold walls and the warm windows, the wartmth they find inside and together versus the cold of their uncertainties that mostly come from outside but also from deep-seated insecurities that they can't so easily escape.

(Ryo still looks at Kazuhito and sees perfection and looks at himself and sees nothing of the sort, looks at him and doesn't know what to do because how can he help the perfect person who likes him even though he isn't worthy of being liked.)

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

At 25:00 in Akasaka Episode 2

[itsallaboutbl]

He's so gorgeous? and for what? 😍😍

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

We back! I was away for a couple weeks and amazing new Japanese bl was waiting for me on my return. Both of these currently airing shows are on Gaga and I highly recommend watching.

At 25:00 in Akasaka

Two episodes into this show and I really like the rhythm of it. I find Shirasaki’s struggle to find confidence in his skills as an actor compelling, and I love Hayama’s quiet kindness. I told @bengiyo Hayama reminds me a bit of my beloved Issei but without the manic energy. Fundamentally, he is genuine and he cares for Shirasaki and any ulterior motives he has for this arrangement feel rooted in that. I love how quickly we’re getting into them bonding and building a relationship together; it's only the second episode and we’ve already arrived at cute date montages and first names. I love this one, and I hope Shirasaki finds his confidence and triumphs over that asshole costar who keeps negging him. 

Living With Him

I love them, your honor. And I like the simplicity of this show. Two nice boys, childhood friends, become roommates. They like each other. They decide to spend more time together and see what they’re comfortable with as their relationship develops. That’s it, that’s the plot. And it’s so compelling in how straightforward it is, bolstered by the honesty of the characters. I loved Natsukawa working up the courage to just ask if Kazuhito likes him, and Kazuhito being honest that he does, but doesn’t want him to feel pressured. Natsukawa might not feel confident that he’s ready for romance, but he has no issue spending time with and being close to Kazuhito. The way he clutched at him with that hug at the end made that super clear. I like the way the show is working in flashbacks to their childhood, too, giving us contextual information for that bond via important memories, and the way Natsukawa's family has been brought into the story. His mom is in fact beautiful and perceptive and his sisters are adorable. This show is darling. 

Coming Soon: Zettai BL 3

This is already out in Japan, but the distribution is exclusive to Lemino and not currently available to international audiences. I will be on the look out and reporting in as soon as it's available to watch properly. In the meantime, you can join me in watching the new opening credits song on a loop.

[bengiyo]

Living With Him Ep 3 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Natsukawa met some of Kazuhito's friends, who both clearly know about Kazuhito's crush. Kazuhito continued to be so, so gay about the heterosexual assumptions about him. We left at Natsukawa picking up on the potential crush and asking Kazuhito to kiss him.

No kiss, eh? Don't let me down.

I like the Natsukawa family.

I was wondering about the mom's look earlier. Knowing her son's habits and when he's worried so she can pull him aside gently says a lot about their relationship.

Wow he went immediately from being encouraged by his mom to confessing his uncertainty to Kazuhito, and then Kazuhito made it clear that he's very serious about liking Natsukawa. Incredible. I love this.

You weren't going to tell him?? Baby boy, you have been flirting nonstop.

Y'all I'm gonna cry. Ryoto feels the need to acknowledge or respond to Kazuhito's feelings and is legit asking how he can help manage them.

They are going to have a sleepover and revisit childhood nostalgia!!!!

The color girlies are going to have a field day with this show.

Drinking soda out of their marching coffee mugs feels very sleepover.

I appreciate how serious Kazuhito was about dishes. We see him doing them fairly regularly.

Not a flashback to the childhood sleepover! He's trying to kill me!

Wow, ending on a cuddle. That was so gentle and reassuring. Thank you, Japan.

This was an incredible episode of BL. Normally we spend time angsting over this for one or more episodes. I love that the friendship between these two is so secure that they can be open about how they're feeling and find a way to move forward. I'm curious if we'll continue to tick-tock interacting with the friends. I'm going to be thinking about the open communication about this crush until next week at least.

[dropthedemiurge]

He is so preciooooousssss. Argh. I'm dying from cuteness of Japanese BLs! Only they can make you feel so warm from the very beginning.

And that's why I love the trope Best-Friends/Lovers(?) (only in series, I hate it in real life somehow but that's for my non existen therapist to unpack), it's only episode 3 of Living With Him and we already got those two attuned to each other's feelings, love confession - and without any unnecessary angst and miscommunication, here's immediate discussion and a lot of caring even while trying to figure out feelings, there's still domesticity, even though the usual world has cracked 🥺

He couldn't understand what he was feeling in return but he empathized that it must be hard to confess your love and still live together like nothing, so he wanted to still give anything he could, make him feel loved and aaaaaahhhhh

Japan, you. You.

[gabrielokun]

[buriedinmyownfeelings]

Important milestone

I’ve apparently watched 200 BL dramas not including ones I DNFed

This is officially my life now

[happypotato48]

This Is A Gay Asian Rant About BL Comments Made By Some Queer Westerners I See Sometimes.

So you know of those gays (usually white) that made dumb tiktok dancing to list of countries that legalized same sex marriage and list of countries that discriminate against LGBTQIA+ poeple as a way to say something racist. yeah i kinda got the same vibes from some comments regard how asian BL is homophobic just cause they don't live up to queer western standard. look, i'm not saying that some BLs and their creators don't deserve criticism regard how they capitalized/exploited queerness for an easy cash grab.

But people need to understand that Asian countries despite recent progress are still very much culturally conservatives. so when people says that thai bl is homophobic and all the characters looks like bunch of straight guys, which is true for some olders thai BLs i'm not gonna denied that. but after all this time and newer BLs generally being very queer and most of creators being out queer themself and poeple still making these comments, i'm annoyed.

And don't get me start on the actors. you don't know them! why are you making assumption and calling them queerbaiter just cause they acts in bl. like maybe they're straight, maybe they're not but what they're definitely doing is making queer content for you know, queer people here. so when you made halfass comments about their sexuality what do you think that made other queer people who still in the closet feels. and when you add the nationality to that, "these thai bl pair are this and that, this korean actor is so ungrateful for his bl past", etc. when our societies are still very much still in progress regard LGBTQIA+ acceptance. it make us living here feels fucking awful like somehow we're lesser queer than people in the west just cause we don't have citibank at pride or some shit.

And the shittiest in my humbled opinion are comments regard censored chinese bls. people do know like, that the creators making these bls are risking their livelihoods for this. that these shows getting make at all are miracles. yes it sucked that they're censored but they're still very much queer shows making by queer people who want to express thier queerness despite the chinese government being the chinese government. when people dimissing these shows as not belonging in queer media, you're also dimissing their creators and audiences as not belonging in the community.

Look what i want to say is that we're trying our best over here, and maybe our best are not up to your liking. the ways we talk and express our queerness maybe still can be perceived as problematic by western queer standard. but these media are our house and you're the guests. for people aren't shitty we appreciated that you're here engaging and loving our media, this is your home too and you're welcome in it. i can speak for myself that i very much love being here on tumblr and interacting with people from all over the world who love BL. but for people who are being shitty sometimes about asian bl.

YOU'RE THE GUESTS, BEHAVE!

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

You don't have to be perfect in front of me.

[heretherebedork]

The little smitten smile when Shirasaki finally used his first name? The swallow? The bright eyes? The way he has to look away? I could die for this little actor in love.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Living With Him Episode 3