#japanese drama recs

[haechanhues]

drop the list of dramas rn 😩 - joy

yesss <3 for now~

SKAM

Boy Meets World

The Empress

Avatar : The Legend Of Aang

When I Fly Towards You

Hidden Love

Love Like The Galaxy

Love Better Than Immortality

The Romance Of The Tiger and The Rose

Gen Z

Go Ahead

F4 Thailand

Love In The Air

Bad Buddy

Dangerous Romance

Ai Chan's Secret

Natsuzora

Last Cinderella

I Will Be Your Bloom

Twinkling Watermelon

Lovely Runner

Shut Up Flower Boy Band

Doom At Your Service

Seasons Of Blossom

Parting Left

[bengiyo]

Having dropped Dangerous Romance, I am now down to three shows. As our intrepid BL adventurer, what would you recommend I watch?

Airing or Recently Finished

Of the things currently airing, I would recommend the following.

My Personal Weatherman (Gaga, Viki)

This show has been a fascinating examination of a new-ish relationship with some heavy kink overtones. This show is not so much about the chase, and so much more about how these two could actually function long-term. I've enjoyed reading @lutawolf kink talk about this one, and the leads have some of the best sexual chemistry we've seen from Japan.

If It's With You (Gaga)

We have a sexually active and assured gay protagonist who knows who he is and what he wants. He's also a menace with some sort of trauma. I am absolutely obsessed with him. This show is going to be very short at 5 episodes, so it may be one you don't want to miss out on. Truly, this has felt like nothing else we've had in a long time and I've been thinking about it for days.

Love in Translation (iQIYI)

This just finished and is an absolute delight. This is one of the better executions of a workplace romance we've seen this year, and was the show anchoring me with all the heavy shows and silly shows airing at once. This show had so much heart to it. It had some wobbles towards the end, but the kindness underpinning this show makes it one of my favorites of the year.

Past Shows

Because you're still doing the homework, here are some shows I know you missed.

Make It Right (Grey)

You should still finish this. I still believe this is one of the most important foundational works for what made Thai BL start to feel more queer. This show asked big questions about male sexual maturation and I don't think any of the Thai high school shows have gone there since.

We Best Love (WeTV)

You probably haven't watched much from Taiwan, but this is one of the best examples of why we remain committed to them. Sam Lin and Yu have hands down the top three best paired chemistry in BL.

Rainbow Prince (YouTube)

This camp masterpiece from last year is one of my favorite shows. It is a hot mess, but the songs are fun and the plot is ridiculous.

[stuffnonsenseandotherthings]

5 QL Adaptations I'd Love To See in 2024 (or beyond).

2023 was definitely an eye opener for me in terms of finally (oh so finally) getting a chance to properly immerse myself in QL media and oh boy have I had a lot of fun with my journey so far. There have been highs, there have been lows, there have been laughs, and there have been tears. There have also been many many amazing shows and adaptations, quite a few of which I still have to catch up on.

Still, just because I have a backlist (is that the right term to use here? Probably not) as long as my arm, that won't stop me from dreaming and looking ahead to the future and look to the future I will because, up until this year, I was definitely I was definitely someone who got most of my QL fixes through reading them rather than watching them and, as a result, I have some suggestions, requests, and some wild dreams from books, webtoons, and mangas I would love to see brought to life in 2024 (or in 2025, I'm not fussy).

1. Our Dreams At Dusk - Yukhi Kamatani

Tasuku Kamame has just recently moved to a new school when a classmate nearly outs him as gay. Struggling accept his own desires and scared of facing future filled with rejection and social ostrisization, Tasuku is contemplating doing the unthinkable when he meets a mysterious woman named "Someone". This chance encounter introduces Tasuku to the local drop-in centre, a place where he finds community, friendship, and a chance to discover who his is and who he wants to become.

First serialised in 2015 this four volume masterpiece of a manga series is frustratingly and upsettingly difficult get hold of nowadays but oh my god it should be required reading everywhere (and I'm only half joking). A truly queer work with representation spanning nearly all the LGBTQIA+ acronym across a multi-generational cast of characters, it's a work with so much love (and magic) at its heart.

This could be a breathtaking drama, Japan, all you have to do is reach out and grab it.

2. Concerning Our Daughter - Kim Hye-Jin

An unflinching look at the prejudices which permeate modern Korean society (and the world all over as well), Concerning My Daughter centres around the fraught relationship between a mother and her queer adult daughter. Told from the perspective of the mother, struggling to come to terms with her daughter's choice to live openly and proudly as a lesbian as opposed to living a "normal" life, this story works to examine and unpick what it means to "fit" within society's boundaries.

A scathing but equally moving critique of homophobia, heteronormativity, ageism, discrimination, and tradition, Concerning My Daughter is not a fun ride by any means, but it is important and, in the right hands, it has a potential to be an earth-shattering drama.

3. No.6 - Atsuko Asano and Hinoki Kino

This might not be gays in space but it is gays in a sci-fi setting and that's more than enough for me. Set in the seemingly utopian city of No.6, this series tells the story of Shion, a boy born to wealth and privilege and who seems set to live a "good" and "productive" life but who finds his life completely de-railed after a chance encounter with the mysterious and enigmatic Nezumi.

A series full of adventure, intrigue, and shady government plans and topped with themes of sexuality, gender expression, class, and environmentalism, No.6 would be an incredibly fun drama to watch (although the production company might have to shell out Alice In Borderland level funds to make it reality).

4. Sasaki and Miyano - Shō Harusono

A BL manga series about BL manga, Sasaki and Miyano is honestly just a whole lot of fun. The series follows the two eponymous high schoolers after a chance incident leads Sasaki to discover Miyano's deep love of BL manga (and a bout of curiosity leads him to ask for recommendations). The story that follows centres around the budding friendship and eventual romance between the two, leaving plenty of time for comedy, hijinks, and deep dives into different BL tropes, as well as an (un)surprising amount of self-discovery, growth, and growing up.

It's fun, it's funny, the relationship is On Point 👌 and Sasaki and Miyano are two of my favourite characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. Make it, Japan, make it now and no the anime was not enough for me.

5. Ordinary Men - Lesh

A sweet, lively, and quite frankly lovely story about the very frazzled and done-with-it-all Nurse Jiyeon and his younger, puppy-like admirer Dr Kim, this webtoon had me tuning in every week while it was coming out and still has me coming back for more. The ups and downs of their courtship and eventual relationship are truly a joyful (and at times hilarious) ride but it's characters; their endearing traits, their growth, their relatability, and their love for each other that really makes Ordinary Men shine. You can see why they love each other, because you love them too.

Anyway, it is no secret that Korea excels at hospital dramas so now I think it's time for it to turn its hand to making Ordinary Men come to life, preferably in full length drama form.

5.5 Honourable Mentions (it's not cheating if I keep it brief)

My Gorgeous Fiancé - Kwak Sae and Teunteun

Centering around two guys getting engaged to each other because of a bet between their parents and grandparents, My Gorgeous Fiancé was perhaps the most enjoyable fever dream I've ever had and now I want to see it on screen.

You Get Me Going - Moscareto and Oh Doyeon

Bed Friends but make it Korean, that's all I'm going to say.

Our Youth - Hinoon

Take all your straight-A student x school bad boy stories and add a heaping helping of tears, I actually felt this one deep in my heart, as in I actually felt my heart lurch reading this. Yes it's a high-school romance but it's also so so much more than that and I'd quite like to share the experience with the BL watching world.

[waaanderingluna]

🥀 𝕸𝖞 𝕳𝖆𝖕𝖕𝖞 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖆𝖌𝖊

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《𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙰》

[dramadaisies]

k-drama fan finds out she's going to japan and needs j-drama recs so she can get that Language Immersion™️ and doesn't accidentally speak korean because that would be bad

like very bad

[dragpinkman]

just finished never let me go - kazuo ishiguro im so normal about this. watching the movie tonight 4 sure

[nerimede]

Ameiro Paradox (2022). Drama review

Ameiro Paradox (飴色パラドックス) | 2022 | Japan | screenplay and direction: Furumaya Tomoyuki

Ameiro Paradox is one of those dramas that are not complex, but even though very enjoyable to watch. There is no extensive network of connections between characters, no digging into their pasts, and no twists and turns. I came across the term comfort series the other day, and I think this drama fits the category perfectly.

Yes, I love to lose myself in multi-layered plots and breathtaking frames. But, for balance, I like stories that warm my heart. That's why Ameiro Paradox will stay in my memory for a long time.

The main characters are Onoe and Kaburagi, who work for the weekly gossip magazine Dash! - Onoe as the reporter, Kaburagi as the cameraman. They are assigned to work as a duo, which is not convenient for them. Onoe follows ethical principles in life, while Kaburagi has nothing to do with them in case of getting a scoop. Onoe despises Kaburagi's flirtatiousness, and Kaburagi is annoyed by Onoe's naivety.

At first glance, they are different and do not fit together as partners at work, let alone a romantic relationship.

However, as history progresses, it turns out they have as much in common as they differ. Just like the fact they are both introverts. Their dislike for each other is incredibly short. Most of the story is feigned dislike, which only adds to their relationship's charm.

Onoe is fascinated to discover that Kaburagi actually has a gentle personality. The hard shell is something that Kaburagi created because of and for the work. Onoe is the only one who manages to break through it. While he doesn't endorse Kaburagi's methods of achieving goals, Onoe also admires that he always gets what he wants.

Kaburagi admires that Onoe stays at peace with himself even in such environment. Onoe appears to him as pure, unsullied in this dirty world. He notices his brilliance, analytical thinking, and ability to connect the dots. Looking at his advantages, even his flaws, such as clumsiness or naivety, seem winsome.

At some point in the story, there is a misunderstanding between them. Onoe is carrying out the action alone, without Kaburagi and it ends successfully. While Onoe is very pleased with himself, Kaburagi becomes cold and distant towards him. Why is he sulking for no reason, is he a hypocrite? After all, he is the one who deceives people to achieve a goal, so why is he so offended when Kaburagi only did his job well? What's this about?

When they worked as a duo, there was a kind of division of blame. When Onoe went on a mission alone, it stripped him of his innocence. Kaburagi always wanted to protect him during their work - not only from direct threat as kidnapping or abusing. He didn't want Onoe to become cold and soulless like him. Poor Onoe, he just wanted to show himself as an independent individual who could be as good at investigating as Kaburagi. It took the opposite turn than intended.

Fortunately, the characters explain everything to each other in the end. Their love is sweet, charming, and this is the warmth in the heart that I wrote about at the beginning.

Coming to the end of my review, I have to mention Masayan, Onoe's friend who runs the pub. The pub is Onoe's contemplative area, and Masayan is the voice that allows him to gather his thoughts, put together mismatched puzzle pieces, and helps him make a decision. In dramas we often deal with a phenomenon - I would call it - talking for talking's sake. Good friends but lousy advisory. I'm not saying there should be philosophical treatises, but I can't stand truisms and pointless advice. Here we have one of the most valuable characters in dramas at all. We need more of them! Such friends in real life too :).

As for me, the drama has the potential for the second season! I'd love to see further adventures in Kaburagi's and Onoe's demanding work and how their relationship develops.

Favorite quotes:

🌸 Onoe: I just thought if you had to do it against your will, I would do it myself. Because I knew you didn't like that kind of task. […] And I didn't want to see you suffering. So I offered to do it instead. Kaburagi: But I'd rather do it myself than let you do it for the same reason as you.

🌸 Onoe: You know, you always smell good. Kaburagi: Really? But I didn't wear any perfume. Onoe: It's probably the shampoo. Kaburagi: So… If we live together, we'll smell the same.

Nerise Medetai

instagram.com/nerimede

[bleghxy]

More GL manga recs:

Summary: Aya is a high school student who is captivated by the mysterious "Onii-san" who works at a CD store. The real "Onii-san" is actually Mitsuki, a girl in her class with whom she had never spoken to before.

Review: This is a very cute read!!! The story doesn't drag out any drama. When I first started reading this, I was afraid it'd drag the secret of Mitsuki being the "Onii-san" but it doesn't. It's very well paced while also being a slow burn. They're both very well written.

Status: Ongoing

Summary: Bubbly, energetic first-year high school student Himari falls head over heels for her senpai Yori after hearing her band perform on the first day of school. Himari tells Yori she just loves her, and to Himari's surprise, Yori says she loves Himari back! But when Himari realizes that she and her senpai are feeling two different kinds of love, she begins to ask herself what "love" really means...

Summary: They're both so adorable!!! I love their relationship sm. There's a lot of other wlw relationships in this manga so that's a plus point. There's also some angst here and there. It also has an anime adaptation coming out next year!

Status: Ongoing

Summary: England, the early 1900s. Alice, a young noblewoman, has a Japanese maid named Hanako working in her household. The two have a fairly typical relationship…until the day Alice begs Hanako to kill her. As Hanako tries to figure out why her mistress would make such a terrible request, she and Alice grow closer until an entirely new feeling begins to blossom between them.

Review: The summary doesn't really do justice to the manga's plot but I don't want to say much because I'll mistakenly give out spoilers so I'll just say it's angsty so prepare yourself for that. Both of the characters and the relationship between them are very well written.

Status: Completed

Okay this isn't a manga, it's a manhua(chinese comic). I haven't read enough GL manhua to make a list about it so I'm putting it here. This manhua is called Tamen de Gushi. I think the English translation of the story name is called "Their Story"/ "SQ begin w/your name"

Summary: The funny romantic story of how Qiu Tong and Sun Jing met and fell in love.

Review: It was one of my first GLs so it has a very special place in my heart. I laughed a lot while reading this. It's mostly on the comedy side. Qiu Tong and Sun Jing's relationship is so so adorable. The side characters in this story are also lovable. The characters in this feel very relatable. Unfortunately due to censorship in China the author had been told to remove the confession scene of the main characters in the physical copies and the author rejected to do that. Because of this, the manhua doesn't have proper chapters anymore but the author still does post little snippets of their life together on weibo and twitter. However there's still 200+ chapters of wholesomeness so please do give it a read!

If you want more GL recs:

[lurkingshan]

Hi Shan!

Help! I am looking for another Japanese drama to watch. However, my queue is only filled with BLs right now and I wanted to venture outside of the genre a bit. So my question is - do you have any favourite non-BL doramas to recommend? (Preferably not romance-oriented, but any genre will do)

Ooh, fun one. I do have a few I've seen that might be interesting to you, though honestly I do find that Japanese queer media is more to my taste than their more mainstream het stuff. Here are a few to try:

Koisenu Futari

Honestly on my hands and knees begging everyone to watch this fantastic drama about two people on the aroace spectrum who form a platonic bond and create their own kind of family.

Silent

This one has romance, but the narrative is not about romance. It's really about the process of coping with becoming disabled, the harm caused by abandoning your loved ones in a fit of noble idiocy, and the slow repairing of relationships. So good.

One Room Angel

An utterly beautiful show. Though it aired as part of Drama Shower, it's not actually a bl. This story is about healing from trauma and finding a reason to live. It’s also one of the most visually stunning shows of the last year.

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat

Only just barely a romance, this is the female WDYEY and it's so precious. Two women develop a close bond and learn about themselves as they form a relationship around one cooking meals for the other.

Monster

This is a movie but I simply had to include it. I am not telling you anything about the plot, but it's excellent and a must watch for Japanese cinema fans, IMO.

Chugakusei Nikki

It wouldn't be a proper jdrama list without some taboo content! This is a serious, deep, thoughtful exploration of what happens when feelings develop between a teacher and student, and the fallout that comes with it. Probably the best treatment of this trope I have ever seen.

Rinko-san Wants to Try

This one is a romance with some classic tropes, but one I think does some really interesting things with gender dynamics and sex positivity. It's a fun watch!

If you end up liking any of these, let me know! A few of them might be tricky to track down, as well, so hmu if you’re having trouble finding anything and I’ll point you. I have a few more on my upcoming watchlist that may end up being future recs, as well.

[waaanderingluna]

🥀 𝕬 𝕾𝖎𝖌𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝕬𝖋𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓

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《𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙰》

[twig-tea]

Twig's GL Recs for March-July 2024

[Here’s my rec list for GLs through to Feb 2024 ]

Fake Buddies Korean, YouTube, 7 episodes (one ep BL, one ep GL, one ep crossover, and then 2 more BL prequel eps and two more GL prequel episodes), approx 45 minutes when compiled, Apr 27-Jun 28 2024

At first this was a little three-part series in which it turns out both members of the couple are secretly in a homosexual relationship with their best friends and using the other as a beard. Lots of comedy of errors and puns (“I like lilies better than roses”) as the characters try to make each other understand the situation they’re in. The backstory prequels were really cute friends to lovers, and it was really nice to see these couples land in solidarity! This series is short and cute and pure fluff.  

To the X Who Hated Me: YunO x Jane Korean, YouTube, 3 episodes ~6 mins each, aired May 22-29 [microseries complete, X who hated me series may be ongoing]

When the previous 2-ep miniseries under this umbrella landed (which I wrote about here: ), I had no idea it was going to be a series of microseries! These are all short but good second chance romances. This one has a “reality”-show-within-a-show format, with a frustrating misunderstanding, and a good kiss. Be sure to always watch past the credits for this series! 

You Are My Star, Thai, YouTube, 1ep 37 mins (aired as 3 12-min eps and then they compiled into this one short film), May 18 [complete]

This was a cute Thai GL that I enjoyed mostly because of the very clear cribbing of specific scenes from recent BLs. It was mostly trope-y (both cuteness and drama), with good kissing. See if you can spot the BL references.

Xiao Xiang Yi Jiu, Chinese, YouTube, 7 episodes 2 mins each, May 20-June 3 [complete]

This little microseries is about a girl becoming an intern for her crush/idol. Happy ending, and they do become explicitly girlfriends! No kiss because censorship.

Lonely Girls Korean, YouTube, 4 episodes 8 minutes each (32 mins compiled) May 14 [complete]

This is about a couple that struggles with the closet, lack of communication, and how to make their relationship last in the face of uncertainty. Also there’s good kisses. SukFilm have done other series before and since, but this is my fave GL of theirs so far. 

The Two of Us Deep Night spinoff, Thai, YouTube, 6 episodes, 15 mins each, airing May 30-July 4 [complete]

I was so confused at first, because I didn’t realize this was supposed to be their story during the events of Deep Night that we didn’t get to see. I was excited about this one but bummed that we started the miniseries with a health scare and then a threat by Meiji to marry some guy just to make Freya jealous? I found it a little frustrating that two women in their 40s could not be honest with each other. The couple is so cute, but the storytelling is not, so take this rec with a grain of salt. Still, it’s so nice to see women in their 40s being super cute and in love in between the drama so I’m keeping it on this list! I am very glad to have gotten the dance sequence and the bath sequence. 

******

And of course currently airing right now so take with a grain of salt because i don’t yet know how they end, but 

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko Japanese, 8 episodes, 25 mins, airing July 4- August 22 [ongoing]

This is a laugh-out-loud funny office comedy in which Akaya flirts desperately with her senior colleague at work, Hiorko, who then spends her evenings complaining to her friends at the lesbian bar about oblivious straights who don’t understand the meaning of what they say. I've written a little more about this show here. It is my favourite GL of the year so far and if it stays this good is on its way to being one of my favourites of all time!

The Secret of Us Thai, 8 episodes, 50 mins each, airing June 24-August 15 [ongoing]

This series starts with the cutest episode of all time and then devolves quickly into serious drama lol but it did a good job avoiding pure “noble idiocy” so I’m hopeful it will continue to hold up. As of ep3 things are happening that I did not expect, so I’m really curious how this one will go. In the meantime, it is also worth noting that these actresses are excellent kissers.

[UPDATE: I already have to retract this, they left it at a weird place last week but I was giving it the benefit of the doubt; but alas it is not holding up friends]

[obstinaterixatrix]

A popular Twitter shorts series depicting the love story between a gyaru and her classmate she mistook as a guy outside of school, bonding over their mutual love for rock music.

happy femslash february, here’s an ongoing series about high school gals who LOVE dadrock. this feels like a bit of a cheap rec because of how successful it already is, but for anyone who’s been on the fence about trying it out: the hype is deserved.

1) the art is phenomenal, the use of color has a really sleek look; 2) the artist did really well working within twitter’s 4 image limit, each chunk has a solid hook and a solid end while keeping a good sense of continuity; 3) as someone from the states, it is SO funny seeing these japanese teenagers going like ‘nobody understands me because I like foo fighters and areosmith’ and it’s kinda true because they’re japanese teenagers in the 2020s

also, I really like the pacing—the Secret Identity aspect is used for a solid amount of drama without being overused imo. then, when they’re able engage more honestly with each other, there’s still a lot they need to work through. it’s good slice of life romance for folks who like that vibe.

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 伪装者/The Disguiser.

The Disguiser is a 2015 spy drama set in Shanghai, 1940. It follows the adventures of four wealthy siblings, all of whom are to some degree engaging in coordinated espionage, subterfuge, and other general acts of sabotage against the brutal occupying Japanese force.

I need to mention the Nirvana in Fire connection up front, because yeah, if you've seen that, you've probably noticed some familiar faces already. And the comparison isn't unwarranted! The stories are completely different, but they're both character-driven, complex, subtly cheeky adventures that manage to keep that tense intrigue going throughout the narrative. Like Nirvana in Fire, the Disguiser's on the heftier side -- 48 episodes -- but they go by at an incredible clip, so that it never feels long.

I have done a rec post for this before, and I stand by everything I said there. However, I figured it deserved its own for-real rec post, so here we go with five specific reasons I think you should give it a try.

1. We're all comrades in horny jail

This is an intensely horny show, starting from -- but absolutely not stopping with -- the main quartet.

These are the four Ming siblings. Only the elder pair of them, Ming Jing and Ming Lou (both on the passenger side of the car), are blood-related to one another. Ming Tai (also in the back seat) got adopted into the family when he was young enough that Ming Jing's relationship to him is very maternal.

Meanwhile, Ah Cheng (driving) was somewhat less thoroughly adopted when he was around ten, meaning that he's always weirdly marginal when it comes to who actually counts as part of the Ming family. He's a brother, but also he's a servant. Sometimes he's in the family photos, and sometimes he's left out of them. His name is legally "Ming Cheng," but basically no one ever calls him that.

What this means is that you've got four incredibly attractive people who are all legally but mostly not genetically related to one another, keeping secrets both with and from one another, yelling at one another, running headlong into danger for one another, sleeping in one another's beds, and occasionally demanding some members of the family spank the others. Is it hot in here, or is it just them?

And it's not just that these are pretty people up in each other's business. Nearly every interpersonal interaction among all the main characters is at least background levels of horny, because of how high the stakes are. The tension running throughout the show is intense -- and of course it is, because these are spies in life-or-death situations, trying to keep their cool so they don't get killed. So many of the relationships are built on lies meant to charm and seduce their targets, which is of course going to be sexy. But when they're built on honesty, they're all the more intimate for that disclosure, because being open with someone about your real identity and allegiances is putting your entire life into their hands.

To be clear: When I say the show is horny, I don't mean that it's erotic or salacious, or that you're going to get a peep of anyone's naughty little comrade, or anything like that. This is the horniness of lingering glances and shouting matches and power imbalances and guns pointed at chests. It's a combo platter of smouldering Victorian yearning mixed with action-movie adrenaline. It's the delicious, redirected horniness you get when sex isn't on the (canonical) table, so all that fraught energy has to go somewhere.

Get to the part in Episode 6 where Ming Jing gets out the short whip. You'll be glad you did.

2. Bad, bad bitches

Some of the baddest bad guys in the show are ladies. In fact, I can't even tell you about all of them here because of spoiler reasons. There are two, however, who deserve special mention.

The first and most prominent is Wang Manchun, member of the Japanese-controlled government's intelligence service, who is one of the best antagonists I've seen in anything. Perfectly coiffed and devastatingly intelligent, she's a member of a powerful Chinese family who has chosen to work for the Japanese-controlled intelligence bureau. She can be genuinely warm and sweet, almost girlish even, when she's around someone she likes. She can also torture a dude to death without smudging her eyeliner.

Her fatal flaw is that she's so in love with Ming Lou -- and so mistakenly convinced that Ming Lou is in love with her -- that it makes her make some extremely bad decisions. When was the last time you saw the handsome gentleman be a honeypot?

I feel okay spoiling you about the fact that these two do not end up together. Ming Lou does not see the error of his ways and start returning her feelings -- which is what I was damn near certain was going to happen for almost two-thirds of the show. I was braced for the show to come in singing the praises of the redeeming power of heteronormativity! NOPE. She's crazy and she needs to go down.

(I do have some issues with how she goes down, but ... well, you'll understand when you get there.)

The other baddie, Nantian/Minamida, is a stark contrast to Wang Manchun. There is nothing delicate or femme about her. She gets given the worst hairstyle and the most unflattering outfits. The actor's features are already strong, and the way the show makes her up doesn't allow a single inch of softness to slip out. There is one point where she gets to dance with Ah Cheng, and she's painfully wooden. It'd be funny if she weren't so dangerous.

As the section chief of the Japanese forces in Shanghai, Minamida is a formidable foe. She's smart. She's mean. She's incredibly suspicious of all these smiling Chinese people who surround her, because she doesn't know which ones are legitimately sucking up to her and which are just waiting to drive a knife into her back. Just plain killing her would be easy. Killing her and getting away with it? That's what's going to need a plan.

The actor is also Japanese! In fact, they've gotten a fair number of Japanese actors to play the Japanese characters, but she's the only one who also speaks Mandarin competently and doesn't need to be overdubbed by a native speaker. She's scary and intense and kinda makes your skin crawl. It's great. She's great.

And while we're talking about bad girls, I'm also going to shout out Yu Manli in here, because while she's not a villain, she's absolutely a morally grey character -- and I love her to itty bitty bits. She's about three inches high and weighs about five pounds soaking wet, and she will murder the heck out of you. Baby girl.

3. It's queer in here

The original novel is not danmei. No boy-kissing has been censored, because there wasn't any in the first place. The author/screenwriter is a lady, but not one who dabbles in BL. This does not merit the "Censored Adaptation of a Same-Sex Work" tag on MyDramaList. Censorship didn't do anything to this one. It was never gay.

That said, the show is massively queer, in that it lauds textually the normative experience of getting married relatively young and having lots of children -- and then gives you so many characters, both heroes and villains, who don't do that.

I mean, we've got:

Adult unmarried siblings living together

A grown woman who has intentionally remained unmarried in order to manage her business and family interests

Two adult brothers, both bachelors, who basically live in one another's back pockets

In fact, plenty of people who seem to have forsaken marriage and children in favor of their various active patriotisms

"Life and death partners" who have to fake-date their way through a couple spy missions

A teenage girl sold into sex work who offers to marry the man who saves her and is politely turned down for her own good

The same teenage girl pulling a black-widow routine and using multiple other marriages as a pretense to murder dudes

A couple whose marriage is forbidden by their families, except they do not end up together

A guy who has to break up with his real girlfriend so he can pretend to be with the spy colleague he lives with

A single woman who adopts a child

Two orphaned young adult siblings who adopt two children not that much younger than they are

A heterosexual relationship between people who are functionally equals in their various underground organizations (which don't want their members having romantic relationships with anyone)

A note on that last one: There is a cishet normie love story that runs the length of the show. A lot of people dislike it; I think it's cute and fine! But no matter what you think of it, you have to note the sharp contrast between this prescriptive tale of young love and everything else that's going on around them. There's a lot of lip service paid to how their marriage and the children they will presumably have someday are the ideal, but it's certainly not the only way people live, or even live well. In fact, everybody else treats their romance a little bit like oh, thank goodness he's doing this so we don't have to.

Other aspects of heterosexuality are similarly praised in concept, but not really shown in the best light. There is a lot of filial devotion involved here, but overwhelmingly toward parents who are dead. Living parents, by and large, either are absentee or just plain fucking suck. The show even has very few married characters anywhere in its principal cast, and most marriages that even get so much as mentioned either are portrayed as scummy (because the husband sucks ass) or ended because one of the partners died. Even the very idea of marriage, while praised in theory, doesn't thrill most of the characters. At one point, when Ming Jing brings up the idea of Ah Cheng's getting married, Ah Cheng cannot extract himself from that conversation fast enough.

What this really does mean is, when it comes to heteronormative ideals, the show frequently says one thing and does another.

Do I think the show is queering things on purpose? Absolutely not. This is instead one of those situations where there's such an underlying assumption that heterosexual desire and family unit construction are universal constants ... that the show barely actually gets around to portraying those things as good.

What you get instead, then, are a lot of powerful interpersonal ties that cannot be satisfied by marriage. The most intense loyalties in the show are between people for whom heterosexual pair bonding is not a social or narrative option. Therefore, those intimacies form along different pathways, many of which fall way outside the socially acceptable parameters of marital respectability and reproductive obligation. People love one another fiercely in sometimes unconventional ways. It doesn't get much queerer than that.

I'm also going to put the phrase "the inherent eroticism of letting someone who loves you shoot you with a sniper rifle" right here and walk away. Perhaps it will intrigue you. Perhaps it will intrigue you extra to know this happens more than once.

4. Jin Dong in menswear

That's it, that's the selling point.

Okay, wait, I do have something to add: In a sea of strong performances, his is arguably the best. He absolutely nails this tone of quiet, competent exhaustion the whole way through, making his Ming Lou this perfect gentleman on the verge of collapse.

You learn (somewhat confusingly) in the very first episode that Ming Lou is an important minister for the economy under the new (Japanese-controlled) government in Shanghai -- except, no! He's actually secretly the captain (codename Viper) of the local KMT division, working to undermine the occupying Japanese forces -- except, no again! He's actually -- and this is the real one this time -- head of intel (codename Cobra) for the Shanghai CCP underground.

(I bring up the codenames because my first time through, I didn't fully realize that they were attached to his different identities, and I just thought the occasionally spotty translation couldn't agree on which English word to use for the same snake.)

Living this three-identities-deep life is taking its toll on Ming Lou, but you know what? He's also a damn professional. He comports himself in exactly the manner he's supposed to behave at all times. And Jin Dong sells it beautifully, this carefully restrained exterior that houses a passionate heart.

This to me is the reason his relationship with Ah Cheng is so precious: Ah Cheng is the only one who understands, because Ah Cheng is living the same life of nesting-doll secrets. It's easier on Ah Cheng, though, because he doesn't have to be the face of it all; he just gets to smile and do whatever his da ge tells him to. They are each tasked with taking care of the other in ways great and small. I'm not going to spoil its context, but one of the most powerful moments in the show is when Ah Cheng says matter-of-factly that he knows his life is worth less to Ming Lou than other people's are, and Ming Lou, to put it mildly, pointedly disagrees.

So yeah, this is The Ship.

If you consider their relationship entirely fraternal, theirs is an incredible dynamic of trust, dependence, vulnerability, and sacrifice. If you consider it fraternal and spicy, well, it's still all that, but also enjoy picturing them tenderly removing each other's really nice suits piece by expensive piece.

5. You gotta spy hard!

Imagine the spy media spectrum where at one end you've got James Bond and Mission: Impossible movies (sexy, glamorous, high-tech), and at the other end you've got the Rebel and John LeCarre novels (grueling, well-reserched, realistic). The Disguiser is well toward the latter end of that continuum. It's got a bit of a Hollywood gloss on the whole mechanics of spywork, but man, not much of one.

Despite what the title suggests, most of the spies in this show are exactly who they say they are. Ming Tai is the only one of the siblings who assumes temporary false identities as part of his spycraft, and even he really can't do that anymore once he's back in his native Shanghai, where he's the recognizable youngest son of a prominent family. They all have to be spies in plain sight, which is equal parts a hindrance and an asset. You've got to see Ming Jing do-you-know-who-I-am her way out of some shit. It's great.

There are some legitimately tense scenes and escapes, and I like that most of the threats are overcome by quick thinking and very good acting. The schemes that our heroes pull off work because our heroes understand what makes certain people tick, and other people can't pull that shit on our heroes because our heroes have one another. It's smart spywork that stops short of being grandiose. Even the big plans that involve several steps rely less on supernatural feats of timing, and more on just trusting human nature.

The show is definitely spinning a propaganda yarn about how the noble Communists saved the day during the '40s, and in doing so it takes some pretty entertaining liberties with history. Even so, the particulars of the political philosophies are absolutely secondary to the conflict. You're never going to get a scene where two guys excitedly detail just how much Mao rules. At best there's some blah-blah about freedom and love of country that could be transposed onto any nationalist ideology without a lot of work. If you asked me, based only on information provided by this show, to explain the difference between the KMT and the CCP, my main answer would be, one group uses a code name that's one kind of snake, while the other uses a code name that's a different kind of snake.

And honestly, it's kind of nice. All you really need to know is that the Communists are cool, the KMT are okay but definitely less cool, and the Japanese and anyone who works with them fucking suck. I can do that! I grew up in a sports-watching family. I'm used to being sat down in front of the television and told, we want the guys in the blue uniforms to beat the guys in the white uniforms. No sweat.

The plot does fall down more than a little bit in the final act, due to a combination of intentional obfuscation on the drama's part, a couple things that probably should have happened onscreen instead of off, and a sudden rash of stupid-ass decisions made by one character in particular. But by that point, you're invested enough that you might as well see it through to the end, right? The dismount's a bit shaky but ultimately satisfying, as the genre goes.

I'm going to say the same thing here I said in the Nirvana in Fire rec post: This show is not for everybody, but if this is the kind of thing you like, it is a fantastic example of that thing.

bonus: And speaking of Nirvana in Fire...

Here's the full set.

Basically, if you watched Nirvana in Fire, you owe it to yourself to see the Disguiser. It’s another smart, character-driven drama, and you get to see a lot of your favorite actors in radically different roles, costumes, and relationships. (And speaking of costumes, both shows apparently have the same costume designer? That's range.)

Going to give this one a shot?

It's unfortunately a little hard to find. In my region (i.e., the US), KissAsian and YouTube are as good as it gets, both of which have their drawbacks. Some others among you may be lucky enough to be in a region where Viki will show it to you (which is where the KissAsian subs come from in the first place). There's a horrible set of machine translations running around out there, so beware of those; you'll know immediately you've tripped over those when they don't translate any of the onscreen text crawl at the start.

And speaking of the subtitles: Both extant sets, to put it politely, leave something to be desired. You can generally tell what's going on, but there are times you'll have to work for it. This is definitely more annoying when you're trying to follow a smart spy drama than it is when you're breezing through a low-intensity fuzzy xianxia mess. You actually have to pay attention to this one.

As a bonus, pretty much the whole thing was filmed in Shanghai Film Park, so if you're missing Dragon City, well, here it is! This was in fact the first Republican-era show I saw after watching Guardian, and I spent a lot of time going, hey, I know that street! ...like a nerd.

You can feel the brotherly love.

[shipcestuous]

Kdrama recs (submission)

About the anon that asked for kdrama recs 

Step/Adopted 

Cheer Up! (2015)

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes

Father is Strange (my fave cuz they fall in love after knowing for a while they’re siblings)

Tale of Nokdu (extended family)

Reply 1997

My Girl (cdrama)

Go Ahead (cdrama)

Call it Love

Shippy Vibes

The Penthouse (twins)

Come and Hug Me

Take My Brother Away (they live by themselves it’s really good - cdrama)

It’s a drama, a webcon and a movie by the same name 

Monstar (don’t remember this one just have it in the list might be light vibes)

Canon

Hundred Millions Stars From The Sky (the japanese version of the smile has left your eyes, very sad but good - jdrama

My Sister, My Love (jdrama)

Scarlet Heart Ryeo

 Also I put Tale of Nokdu as canon but don’t remember to what extent 

(there’re probably more but these are the ones i watched and also cheese in the trap is kinda bad i wouldn’t recommend) 

[absolutebl]

hi there 🖐🏼 what are your recs for bl movies with great acting?

BL Movies with GREAT Acting

Specifically Movies? Do KBLs that were cut into movies count? Hum, I'm gonna make a judgement call given how few actual movies I have to work with and say if it holds as a "movie going experience" I can count it. I should say in order to really push this into the superlative acting space the BL aspect on many of these is... light.

His

Japan 2020 Viki

His is about being a grown adult and still struggling with coming out as gay. It addresses the consequences of life choices disingenuous to identity. Nagisa turns up on Shun’s doorstep with his precocious daughter in tow. This is a touch confusing to Shun since they were each others first love and ended badly. Shun has retreated from society, rejecting the world before it can reject him, already brokenhearted because without Nagisa he never had a reason to fight. Nagisa went the opposite way, tried to pretend to be something he was not and ended up with a daughter he adores and a wife who hates him. The acting is killer, Miyazawa Hio is sulky in the best possible way, the filming is beautiful and the setting unique and interesting...

I'm not wild about the ending. Moody arthouse smackdoodle is going to pretend that "ambiguous" is somehow unique and special rather than bog standard commonplace for narratives of this type. But endings are my hangup, not yours?

This is not really BL (the prequel was), so few of the tropes are used. You do not need to have watched the prequel.

Your Name Engraved Herein

Taiwan 2020 Netflix

This movie is fantastic but it is also seriously depressing. It’s a self acceptance journey that goes emotionally array on the alter of history, but if you wanna wallow in high quality acting and serious gay drama, this’ll do it. I would say it's not really BL, no real trope drops at all.

Okay those two I chose more on the strength of the acting than BL. These others are not going to be at the same standard/style.

If you want moee of the above level of drama, things get very sad in the BL world, so Love of Siam, Dew, Eternal Yesterday, Goodbye Mother, etc...

Restart After Come Back Home (Risutato wa tadaima no ato de)

Japan 2020 Gaga?

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning. The acting is a touch stiff, in that Japanese reserved way.

This is the only BL movie, as a movie, that I could pull. There are others, I jsut don't think the acting is good enough.

So here are some highly rated short bingable series that are movie length (1.5-2.5 hours) but not really movies - BUT with killer acting. So they still might satisfy the itch. I places them in order of acting and filming quality, not my own personal preference.

From Japan

Old Fashion Cupcake

Tokyo in April is...

Life: Love on the Line (director's cut)

My Beautiful Man

I Cannot Reach You

Seven Days

From Taiwan

Red Balloon

We Best Love (esp part 2)

About Youth

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line

From Korea

To My Star

Long Time No See

The New Employee

Where Your Eyes Linger

More like this?

I want to shout out The Eighth Sense here too. It's longer than movie length but so well acted.

(source)

[negrowhat]

do you have any bl recs for a celebrityxnormal person? i've watched be mine superstar and want more of the same vibe but i cannot seem to find any, thank you!! x

Hello Anon! I absolutely have a few recs for you! I hope you don't mind venturing out of the Thai BL realm for a bit. These 3 are actually some of my faves. Top 10.

To My Star. TMS is a Korean BL. It's centered around famous actor Kang Seo Joon and local chef Han Ji Woo. Seo Joon gets caught in the middle of a scandal and has to lay low so his manager makes him move in with Ji Woo who coincidentally lives in the apartment building he owns and rents out. Seo Joon is very charismatic and outspoken and Ji Woo is very reserved and set in his ways. As they live together and work together, they get closer and closer to each other. There are 2 seasons of To My Star and s2 shows a lot more of Seo Joon's celebrity presence because he's not hiding out and waiting for the scandal to pass anymore. You can watch it on VIKI.

Utsukushii Kare aka My Beautiful Man. Utsukushii Kare is a Japanese BL. It doesn't quite start off as Celebrity x Regular Guy but it becomes that. Hira is a quiet anti-social guy who doesn't really have much interest in anything at all until he sees Kiyoi who is the most beautiful person he's ever seen in his life. Kiyoi is the school's most popular guy, people hang around him to gain something and he's fine with it because he likes the attention. Kiyoi has aspirations of being famous. He eventually becomes a model and then an actor while Hira goes to Uni. Kiyoi gets his big break as an actor and Hira is right by his side. The problem is Hira doesn't think enough of himself and Kiyoi thinks the entire world of him. There are 2 seasons and a movie for Utsukushii Kare. It's available on VIKI and Gagaoolala.

Lovely Writer. This one is a Thai BL. This series is about a up and coming, but low profile fantasy author Gene who got his start by writing a BL novel. That novel is being turned into a BL series. Enter our other main Nubsib who will be starring in the drama. They ask Gene to be on site while filming to offer character insight but he wants no parts of it and really is against his novel even being made into a series. He's not proud of his tropey and toxic novel. Anyways, Nubsib shows immediate interest in Gene who just wants to remain unseen and unheard. Nubsib wants to be everywhere Gene is. He's super taken with him and he thinks he's super cute and maybe he knows Gene better than he's letting on. They must juggle their growing feelings while also dealing with the media, Gene writing his new BL novel, and super fans who ship Nubsib with his onscreen partner Aoey.