#pinoy bl

[wen-kexing-apologist]

A Must Read

So glad @waitmyturtles brought my attention to this Teen Vogue article about purity culture. This is the start to a very good conversation about queer sex on screen, and as your resident “writing academic papers about sex in Only Friends” enthusiast I say everyone who watches queer media and BLs specifically should read this.

[absolutebl]

10 Best BL Shows with the Hottest Sexitimes

Because this is English and word order matters, this title means the show itself has to be good AS WELL AS the scenes high heat, as opposed to the best sex scenes in BL. The two are not necessarily the same list. Anyway I tried to pick both high heat and a fun show. This was hard (pun intended).

FYI expect triggers with your high heat.

(Oh right. For me to get a 3/3 heat rating the BL has simulated sex in it or very close to it. And usually one or more other sexual acts like bjs, a-ply, etc...)

So, I went to the spreadsheet, and sorted it by high heat and then ranking, and here is what I got. I think #1 will surprise you. What will not surprise you is it's mostly Thai and Taiwanese.

10. TharnType (and follow ups)

Thai 2019 Viki

Should it still rank, all these years later? I am sorry to say, yes it should. University setting, great acting and complex characters, interesting friendship groups, enemies to lovers, seriously angsty coming out, high production values, AMAZING chemistry, multiple BL side couples with all the issues, damaging queer rep, strong seme/uke and husband/wife language, classic tropes and lots of them bad. But it's famous for a reason.

This was KinnPorsche before KinnPorsche.

9. Addicted: Heroin

China 2016 Viki

When Chinese BL was good it was very dirty good and when it was bad it was censored. This is the model for that statement: rich kid falls madly for the genius poor kid in his class, starts an aggressive pursuit, includes kidnapping for love, obsession, stepbrother trope, plus some cheating. I love this BL because of what I could have been. Just stop watching it after The Sex Scene. Okay?

8. Love Stage!!

Thai 2022 YouTube

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy. Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc and heat levels.

7. HIStory 4: Close to You

Taiwan 2021 Viki

Nancy Chen directs, the side dish plot is basically a pastiche of problematic BL tropes inherited from the above. Great chemistry, high heat, stepbrothers, dubcon, obsession, stalker etc… They sexy tho.

6. My Day

Pinoy 2020 YouTube

The set up on this one is enemies (also boss/employee) and they don’t like each other to start. But that gets resolved pretty quickly. And then they are some of the cutest, hottest, and best boyfriends ever. This is an under-appreciated BL, IMHO.

5. Cutie Pie

Thai 2022 YouTube

Very high production (and heat) and a lot of visual references to live action yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and driven by miscommunication. Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. (It has depth, it just depth of tongue kisses.)

Also the follow up: Naughty Babe

4. Bed Friend

Thai 2023 YouTube but for high heat you'll net to watch on iQIYI

Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS). NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, unfortunately the story ultimately failed them. Had the show had the strength of its convictions and kept to a tighter, darker, harsher 8 eps it would have been the first high heat to earn a 10/10 from me, but once they fussed with it, it dropped to a solid 8/10. Could have been great but was overworked. Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down.

3. HIStory 3: Trapped

Taiwan 2019 Viki

Basically the definition of enemies to lovers from Lin Pei Yu. This is a cop + the mafia man he is chasing but WAIT, they fall in love. Added bonus side couple: assassin and nerd cop ALSO falling in love. It’s great. All the leads are stellar. Its high heat, fun action, and a bit of a mystery drama but pretty about all of it. My only warning is that the main couple doesn’t entirely end up together, it’s implied, but… amorphous ending.

2. Why R U?

Thai 2020 Viki

No one knows what’s going on, not even the characters, but absolutely no one cares 'cause it's so thirsty. The plot seems to be "great chemistry and make sure Zee's shirts are NEVER BUTTONED PROPERLY." We, the collective, have a pro Hawaiian shirt anti-button stance, so rah rah rah! Still the most confusing thing about this show is: why they didn't just title it YRU? The FighterTuror sex scenes still stand as some of the best every fielded in a Thai BL.

1. Be Loved In House: I Do

Taiwan 2021 Viki

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns. ALL THE TROPES plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan, who usually prefer to go hard, but all their signature domesticity. There is one high heat sex scene and it's great. But it's the whole package of classic sappy Taiwanese BL that puts this at the very top for me.

Generally just v high heat?

Hottest sex scenes in BL is frankly gonna be largely a matter of your personal taste.

But if the ones mentioned above don't work try:

KinnPorsche

Love in the Air

Big Dragon

HIStory 3; MODC (the BL that shall not be named)

Be Mine Super Star

Manner of Death (and anything else with MaxTul)

Oh My Sunshine Night (sides)

Secret Crush on You

Wedding Plan

Most dark JBL has very good high heat, but... ya know.

For @samara44 by request.

(source)

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

You're all I need, the very air I breathe. You are home.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

You're the light, you're the night | You're the colour of my blood | You're the cure, you're the pain | You're the only thing I wanna touch - Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding

Moonlight Chicken

HIStory 2: Crossing The Line

Utsukushii Kare Season 2

Gaya Sa Pelikula (aka Like In The Movies)

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner

HIStory 5: Love In The Future

Tinted With You

The New Employee

Favorite "Let-me-watch-you-while-you-sleep-moments" (Part 1/?) as part of my favorite bl-tropes collection.

[boozles]

For anyone who needs real confirmation, direck Ivan has given it! We are getting a 3rd Gameboys set in New York City!

[heretherebedork]

I love when they do the 'pin his hands above his head' bit and I am here for this bit.

[warangs]

You have a bed, you know? Let me stay beside you like this.

[lurkingshan]

My Story

WELP. The show has ended and I can’t, in good conscience, pretend that it’s good. It is, in fact, a hot ass mess that only gets messier in the final stretch. There’s no plot here. There are no consistent themes. You couldn’t find a narrative arc in this show to save your life. As @bengiyo said, “shit just be happening.”

BUT. THERE IS A BUT.

Contained within this mess of a show is one of the sweetest, most earnest, most sincere first love stories I have ever seen. Zeke and Fifth are beautiful together. Their romance is so lovely that I was genuinely excited to tune in every week despite what a mess the show is on the whole. The actors are quite green, but that just ends up contributing to the authenticity of it all. They truly feel like two young boys falling in love for the first time and figuring out how to be boyfriends. I love them.

So my final rec for this show: (@absolutebl): watch it for Zeke and Fifth, and feel free to skip right through the rest. Nothing else that happens matters much or is really worth your time. But they really are.

[clairificusrex]

BL Filipino - The Day I Loved you

#BoysLove series that will take you back on your FIRSTS!

April 26 on Regal Entertainment YouTube Channel

This looks cute and fluffy!

@absolutebl @bengiyo @gillianthecat @heretherebedork @iguessitsjustme @waitmyturtles

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Can I ask, why do you love BL romance better than het romance? What makes them better? I did not mean anything negative, and I know everyone have their own like and dislike but I want to know your thoughts....

Also what do you think that made Asian MLM (BL manga/manhwa/manhua/tv series/movies) romances better than western MLM romances?

Hello! Yes you are more than welcome to ask :) I truly, truly love getting asks in my inbox and have been having so much fun with the fact I’ve actually been getting some recently! Warning this is long (but i have TL;DRs for everything)

___

I think the fastest answer for me is that I am queer, and therefore I find I have a lot more enjoyment and interest in watching queer stories compared to heterosexual ones.

Also, I find a lot of heterosexual romances to be steeped in misogyny, and have low-key or high-key abusive dynamics. And again, do not get me wrong, there are plenty of queer shows where there are abusive dynamics in play, but it is much harder for misogyny to be committed between two men than it is for misogyny to be placed on a male/female pairing. (I love GLs cause, you know…women, but there are a lot more complex dynamics going in to stories written about two women and those can get much trickier for me, and unfortunately many narratives love punishing lesbains with death so.... Anyway, I’m trying to stick mostly to BLs since that is primarily what this ask is about.)

Additionally, I love BLs more than heterosexual romances because of how BLs treat men. Men in heterosexual romances, especially in the West are extremely masculine, often unable to be in touch with their emotions, jaded, misogynistic, they have to be extremely muscular, and we almost never see femme boys or men.

BLs have such a vast range of men, they have twinks, they have femmes, they have gym bros. They have the clowns, and the super masculine boys. There are shows that let boys be boys, be stupid, and stinky, and fucking gross (hey Pat from Bad Buddy), they let boys be angry and aggressive and express their emotions that way (Sean and Yok’s fight in Not Me, Han Baram and Im Hantae’s conversation in the boxing ring in Sing My Crush, Lom and Nuea in The Wedding Plan, Patts in La Pluie), they let boys fight and wrestle and play (Bad Buddy, My School President, Moonlight Chicken, Only Friends). I love queer stories that let men be gay and ensure through the story that that never undermines their masculinity. I love that there are shows that focus on the progress older men can make in their relationships (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) THEY ARE ALSO ALLOWED TO CRY!!!!

And though it is still kind of rare, Asian BLs actually do have femme boys, and while I am sure femme boys exist in Western shows, I think Pose and fucking Glee are like…the only two shows with queer people that I have seen in the last decade that have an femme boy representation at all. On the flip side, I love how often GMMTV puts their boys in drag and that doesn’t even have to be in a queer show. I also generally love the fact that most of the male actors in Asian BLs, and again, especially in Thailand embrace their femme sides in photoshoots and whatnot, that they wear earrings, and jewelry, and makeup and they look hot as fuck, because it helps me with my own gender identity. I feel and see myself much more masculine (and have less dysphoria) when I have an earring or a necklace or makeup on, now that I have seen so many boys do the same. 

TL;DR: I am queer, and heterosexual romances are frequently misogynistic, and men are extremely masculine and rarely allowed to be soft. Asian BLs give us a very broad range of masculinity, but often let boys be boys while also kissing boys. And actors embracing their femme sides helps me feel more masculine when I lean in to my femme side.

___

As for Asian MLM romances compared to Western MLM romances, obviously this is not a cut and dry thing, not all Asian BLs are going to be better than Western BLs but I find I have a tendency to enjoy Asian BLs/queer media more for a few reasons, generally in order of most to least important for me:

Reason One- Family

This may seem somewhat surprising because the first, and honestly biggest reason I tend to like Asian BLs more than Western BLs has much less to do with the queer aspect. It's actually the family dynamics. I think Western media very frequently has a tendency to be very binary in their portrayal of family dynamics, if family is at all included in Western narratives the relationships that characters have to their family is either almost wholly good, or almost wholly bad. You either have a very abusive household that a character is trying to avoid or flee, or you have a traditional, happy, nuclear family, and when characters have a strained relationship to their family, I have noticed a lot more narrative support for leaving that family behind. But for the most part, family does not play a huge role in most Western shows (and, wild concept to me, it’s part of why I think shows like Succession are so successful, because that is all about complex, fucked up, and loving relationships within a family). 

Whereas, in Asian media, far more frequently family and family dynamics play a huge role in the character’s lives, behaviors, and can influence the story. And because filial piety is such an important aspect to many Asian cultures, you get a lot more interesting parent/child relationships out of Asian media than you do with Western content. And I am a white Westerner, but I am fundamentally, culturally a Southerner and despite no longer being a woman, I will never shed the mantle of Eldest Daughter. And that has resulted in a sense of family responsibility and piety that ends up making it very very easy for me to understand the motivations of the characters that remain loyal to their family even when their family is asking for things from them that run counter to their own desires or happiness (I’ve actually had this conversation a lot with @waitmyturtles about the intersections of Southern culture and Asian culture).

And similarly, I find that a lot of Western media with queer characters at least in the time frame that I have been able to find content with queer characters is either wholly homophobic, or wholly accepting. And do not get me wrong, we get family dynamics like that in Asian BLs too, but we also get parents who are upset about their child’s queerness, and will voice that, and yet who still take care of their children. I’m thinking of the film I watched just the other day called Margarita with a Straw where the main character’s mother can barely look or talk to her daughter when she comes out, but because she is disabled, her mother is still there preparing food for her, bathing her, etc. because even if she is upset about her child’s queerness she can’t stop taking care of her. And those aren’t dynamics I often see in Western media. 

I don’t see relationships like Sawismol and Wang in Western media, where a mother can look at her child and say, out loud that she is disappointed, and to be upset, and to still, despite everything, be the person that her son goes to for comfort when he is absolutely devastated, and I don’t see Western parents sitting there and performing that comfort even when they are disappointed in their children’s queerness.

TL;DR: Family dynamics feel a lot more built out, realistic, and complex in many Asian BLs/media that I’ve seen, than they do in many Western shows. Until I started watching Asian media, I had not seen the dynamics I have with my mother or my father played out on screen. 

Reason Two- Casual Trans Inclusion 

And, as a trans person myself, part of what makes Asian BL shows, Thai shows much more specifically, so important, interesting, and influential to me when compared to Western BLs is the casual inclusion of trans people. Like, that is just something Western media is barely ready for. It’s not non-existent. We have and have had shows like The Fosters, Sense8, Pose, The Owl House, and Heartstopper that have some trans rep. But a lot of those shows have a hefty component to them that shows the struggles of being trans.

In The Fosters we have to watch Cole nearly die trying to get his hands on testosterone, in Sense8 we have to watch Nomi be kept as a medical prisoner and stripped of her autonomy and almost lobotomized, in Pose we are constantly exposed to the very real dangers that trans women of color experience including murder, in Heartstopper we are spared from having to witness the transphobia Elle went through, but it is mentioned. I think the only one of these shows that doesn’t have some element of struggle because a character is trans is The Owl House and let us not forget that Raine Whispers goes through fucking hell in that show. And these conversations, and the demonstrations of struggle to just survive and thrive despite that is vitally important in a society that is pushing closer and closer towards genocide against trans people. Stories that show the struggles of trans people exist for the sake of realism but also serve as an attempt to try to garner empathy towards trans people by cisgender viewers. 

Thailand does have stories where a trans character experiences transphobia (3 Will Be Free, The Warp Effect, Secret Crush on You), but they also have so many stories where trans people are literally just vibing. Do you know how revolutionary it was for me when I watched KinnPorsche and saw Yok, and she was happy, and beautiful, and fun, and her entire plot centered around her running that bar, flirting with boys, and playing surrogate mother to Porsche? Or just to see trans women existing, who aren’t even central to the plot, but are just there? (Payu’s secretary at the auto shop is a trans woman, Golf Tanwarin was at the inclusive cafe in The Eclipse, Golf Kittipat had an illustrious career as a music producer in My School President). Like that shit is SO important to me, and I never, never see it in Western media. 

TL;DR: There are many Thai shows especially where trans people just exist, and they have plots that aren’t always centered around them being trans. Which is revolutionary, coming in as a trans Western viewer where the majority of trans rep in Western shows makes me eventually have to watch trans people suffer. 

Reason Three- Passion Projects

The film industry is huge and pervasive in Western culture, and in the US especially, and with that comes big budget projects that stretch out as long as they can squeeze a cent out of a fan base. As a result you get shows that are too long, you get shows that ruin their premise in the last season after five to fifteen years of dragging the shambling corpse of a story along. And again, do not get me wrong, there are plenty plenty of Asian BLs that are cash grabs, that are terrible, where the actors aren’t really in it. But, most BLs in Asia are one season, they get in, they get out, and you forget it if it’s bad, or you hate it forever if it’s objectively bigoted. But the time commitment to terrible pieces is a lot shorter. 

That said, when you have a low budget, and a story you want to tell, it makes my love so much more. Because it means the crew, the writers, the director, and often time the actors are there because they want to be there, because they like the story they are telling, because they have a story they want to tell. It’s part of why I love shows like The Eclipse so much, because that show was made with a budget mainly comprised of pocket lint and hope, because Golf Tanwarin had something they wanted to say.  Most if not all of Aof Nopparnach’s shows give genuinely, inherently queer stories that speak to queer people. Jojo Tichakorn makes pieces that are so full of queer lenses you could never deny the inherent queerness in his shows, even if the story is primarily focused on a straight person/relationship (Mama Gogo). There are so many shows in the Asian BL world where you can just tell that everyone is having fun. LIsten, Fish Upon the Sky is an extremely problematic show, but for me it felt like everyone had a great time goofing off on that set. You can tell EV-ER-Y-BOD-Y in the cast of Mama Gogo  was having the time of their motherfucking lives. 

I also think the West is very self-congratulatory and tends to hold themselves as the standard of televisions and acting, when I am over here watching Asian BLs with some of the strongest acting from young people I have ever seen, and having it be written off because its a) low budget b) gay and c) in another language. Like, when I try to get people in to BL I start with shows like KinnPorsche (which I know drives @bnegiyo mad) cause it has a much higher production value than many other Asian BLs without being prestige and therefore can’t radically alter the perception of what BL is (hello ITSAY/IPYTM and 180 Degrees), Thai BLs especially. And I figure that is the only way to show someone the level of absurdity and camp that comes from a lot of BLs, while also maintaining their interest because it has a higher production value, so that if they end up enjoying that they are more willing to watch the low budget shows. 

TL;DR: Many Asian BLs are pretty low budget, compared to like any Western show, which I find to mean we have more stories in Asian BL that people actually want to tell. (there are still very many shows that people seem to just kinda show up for, or get bored with partway through [looking at you Tee] but.)

Reason Four- Abundance

There are 

So 

Many 

Asian 

BLs 

Here's a fraction of my watch list

I have watched 81 in roughly the last year, and there are so many more on my Plan to Watch list, and there are more coming out all the time. The West has given me like…two, maybe three. And when we do get good queer shows in the West, they are frequently canceled before completion. Especially if they are on Netflix. 

We lost Sense8, fans had to fight for Out Flag Means Death to get renewed, The Owl House got cancelled by Disney after giving their main character a girlfriend, ND Stevenson had to write two ending to She-Ra and fought tooth and fucking nail to get the gay one, Legend of Korra had to save the gay kiss until the end just like She-Ra had to. If you want to get depressed here is a link to an article ‘50 TV shows with Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer characters cancelled after one season’. Because most Asian BLs are meant to be only one season, we actually get complete stories, rather than ending with unresolved tension, or cliffhangers. 

TL;DR: there is a metric fuck ton of Asian BLs

Reason Five- Sex

The West, especially the US, tends to have a very puritanical view of sex (which makes sense because the Puritans were some of the first colonizers…I mean colonials…to murder everyone and occupy…uh, I mean settle the United States (I would also like to place blame on the Italians and Spanish [hey Columbus] and their Catholicism AND PROTESTANT CALVINISM that also influenced the pervasive societal views of sex and especially gay sex in the United States).  

With ever increasing homophobia and transphobia, so many shows are trying, in my own personal opinion, to garner empathy, sympathy, and acceptance for queer characters by cisgender and/or heterosexual viewers by making their queer characters flat, two-dimensional, virginal, perfect people. But homophobes and transphobes consider holding hands to be just as grotesque and inappropriate as full on porn. With Western, and especially US based, views of sex, many queer characters are sanitized, sex scenes are rare, and if they do exist at all they are usually in shows that have mature ratings. 

That is not the case with Asian BLs. Like, do not get me wrong, there are plenty of pure, virginal, don’t kiss, barely touch BLs out there, but because there are so many BLs, there are also plenty of shows with lots of physical intimacy and multiple make out scenes that aren’t maturely rated, as well as plenty of maturely rated shows that have multiple sex scenes AND CAN INCLUDE KINK WHICH LIKE!!!!! I rarely see in the Western media I’ve watched. Hell, Sense8 is a sexual liberation show that includes multiple orgies, but there is not even a hint of any other kink (besides whatever Dani, Lito, and Hernando have going on).

gif by @radishayuan

Meanwhile, The Warp Effect has fucking puppy play, Bed Friend has pet play, Laws of Attraction which has a couple pretty chaste kisses shows handcuffs to at least imply kink, there’s a ball gag and a fucking leash in Big Dragon, I haven’t seen it but Unforgotten Night has a lot of BDSM themes in it, Rain and Payu have a dom/sub dynamic going on, we have daddy kinks abound, I also haven’t seen this one but I know there is some belt bondage in War of Y. And even if it isn’t shown, kink and bondage specifically are often referenced in passing in shows with sex.

Also, there are very very very few Western shows I have seen that treat sex workers kindly, and Jojo Tichakorn is right there giving us sex workers as main characters multiple times in a row. Taiwan has great physical chemistry, the very few things I have seen from the Phillipines are so fucking queer, Japan even when they aren’t including sex at all have some extremely queer narratives, and when they are including sex? Holy fuck. South Korea is developing, but I have liked what I’ve seen so far, and it’s been fun seeing very rapid progressions in the level of physical intimacy characters are allowed to have, Thailand has been making a name for itself.  

TL;DR: There is a very broad range of physical intimacy in Asian BLs from no sex to lots of sex, but the abundance of content means I am seeing more shows with gay sex in them in like…a month or two, than shows I have seen in the West with gay characters at all in like…the past year. (This is of course, subjective, don’t ask me for real numbers). 

And, you know, in case this response wasn’t long enough, the amount of queer content, the types of stories being told, the rapid and continued development of BL is super interesting to observe in its own right. Sure, it may be driven by marketability and sales, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some truly important, realistic, vital, and beautiful pieces of queer media being created and shared with the world, a lot of which is much more accessible to audiences than Western media. I go heavy on the Thai shows in part because they are available for free on YouTube. 

I also think the West seems to think that having gay marriage is the be all, end all of queer inclusivity, and that they do not realize that countries without gay marriage are creating some of the most realistic queer content out there right now. The West has a lot it can learn from Asian BLs, but in my opinion, we’ve got our heads too far up our asses to be following their lead.

[absolutebl]

Enemies to Lovers & Cohabitation BLs

I got this request over on MDL and I though I’d just repost the list here, since if I was asked there I might be asked here. There are plenty more in each category I just haven’t rated them as high. Gotta limit the spreadsheet of doom somehow. 

Enemies to lovers (as a main trope) that I've rated 8/10 or higher:

Semantic Error

We Best Love (1 & 2)

Blueming

Bad Buddy

Not Me

HIStory 3: Trapped

Candy Color Paradox

My Sweet Dear

My Day

SOTUS

Kiss Me Again - PeteKao Cut

Why R U?

Star in My Mind

The Eclipse

What Zabb Man!

Nitiman

Big Dragon

Cohabitation (as a main trope) that I've rated 8/10 or higher:

To My Star

Be Loved In House: I Do

He's Coming to Me

Lovely Writer

Choco Milk Shake

Oh! Boarding House

Roommates of Poongduck 304

Like In The Movies

HIStory 2: Right or Wrong

TharnType

Theory of Love

Still 2gether

Cutie Pie

His the movie

Ingredients the series

Manner of Death

Ghost Host Ghost House

Coincidentally the same amount in each. Huh. 

Includes only BLs that completed runs before 2023. 

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Tell me a story, Karl. What's your alternate ending? What would happen if we didn't have to be afraid?

Dedicated to @troubled-mind

[bl-bracket]

It's Back!!!

After several unplanned hiatuses and finishing the much bigger beast of a project Build-a-BL turned out to be, we are finally going to go back to our original programming! Since our last normal bracket, many BLs have aired, so I'm excited to see how these new additions will show up in our competitions!!!

Without further ado, here is our list of potential next topics!

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Do you have favorite BL dramas or movies? If you do, what's your top 20 Asian BL dramas or movies?

Hi anon! 💙 Thank you for this ask! I can make a list! I love it 🥰

Of course I have favorites and I am so thankful you ask for my 20 favorite bls, because 10 would be too hard 😅

I don't have any logical reason behind my choices. Most of the times I go with the feeling I have while watching the show. The following is not a best to last ranking, just my top 20 favorite shows 😊

Goodbye Mother

A vietnamese movie about a young man, Van, who visits his family for the first time after being abroad for nine years. He doesn't come alone, but brings his boyfriend Ian with him. Van waits for the best moment to come out to his family and present Ian as his partner. It is more of a family drama than the typical bl, but it is such a good movie. The grandmother is the heart and soul of it all. It provides everything, happiness, sadness, anger, pain, love...just a perfect movie. It is still available on GagaOOLala, but on the list to leave soon.

A Tale Of Thousand Stars

One of my feel-good-series. EarthMix is one of my favorite pairing and they went crazy with all the staring and pining. The story of Tian and Phupha who meet at a village in the forest where Tian works as a volunteer teacher and Phupha is the local Chief Forest Officer. We whitness how two people get to know each other, understand each other and develop feelings for each other. It is a romantic fairytale dealing with important and serious issues and I love it! You can watch it free on Youtube.

Moonlight Chicken

Speaking of EarthMix...Moonlight Chicken is my newest favorite and one of the easiest decisions for picking as a favorite. It is a short series, but it tells so many stories in a perfect way. No character comes too short, no realtionship is undeveloped. It is such a perfect series. EarthMix are killing it, but GeminiFourth stole the show. Their depiction of a this first love between a deaf young man and an angry young man was just so beautiful. Both had their dreams and both felt unheard and unseen from the outside (especially the parents and guardians) and they developed such a pure and beautiful bond. I could go on and on about the beauty of this show. Perfect and free to watch on Youtube.

My School President

And another GeminiFourth project. I am so in love with this show. It is something personal. The story about a first love and such a healthy love and Tin, our school president is one walking green flag. The show helped me on a very personal level to understand parts of my own history and choices and I am forever grateful and will keep this in my heart. And besides that it is such a comfort watch. Every conflict is dealt with before the episodes end and there is no drama, just love and respect. I love it! It is also free on Youtube.

Triage

This is something else. We have time loops and some supernatural stuff happening while the main character tries to rescue this young man who is as it turns out the love of his life. And when it looks like it finally can work out, destiny or in this case a higher entity, plays a little bit with time and fucks everyting up again. It is really interesting and tense and there are twists and it is just amazing!

The Untamed

Does this count as a bl? It is not the typical bl, more a censored adaptation of same-sex original work from China. Nevertheless you can see the love and affection between Lan Zhan and Wei Ying. This is a masterpiece. When I tell people about it, who don't watch asian dramas, I always tell them it is better than Game of Thrones for me, so they can put it in relation. This show wrecked me. I cried like never before. And I can't put into words what this series made me feel. It is on Viki and WeTV.

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

Speaking of non typical bls stuff. 180 degree is such a good series. It is difficult to watch, because it feels really raw at parts and it deals with so much stuff, like homophobia, grief, internal homophobia, trauma, loss, love different kinds of relationship, growing up and stagnation, resignation. And the cinematography, uuuhhh! Such a beautiful series and in everything you see on screen you can intepret something in it. As a person who studied language and the comparison between novels and their adaptations, this was heaven for my intepretation loving heart. You can watch it on GagaOOLala.

A First Love Story

Strongberry at its best. It is korean and a short film in two parts and perfect. It tells the story of two best friends who have feelings for each other, but one of them enlisted and has to go to the military soon. We meet them again after some time and get a very intimate view on a very short part of their lifes. The acting is good, the story is good, the chemistry is good. You can watch it on Youtube or soon it will be on GagaOOLala again.

Be Loved in House: I Do

My comfort watch. This is nothing special. It is just a workplace romance, but it feels so cozy and I love the story. It makes me feel all the butterflies and happiness in my stomach and I love this shit! The company gets a new boss, who is very strict, has a bunch of rules and forbids his co-workers to date, because love can be a distraction and because of his own personal trauma. Can his stone-cold heart be warmed-up again? Oh the cuddles are everything for me! It is on Viki.

History 2: Crossing the line

I like most of the HIStory shows, but tis one I like the most. I do love the secondary couple of HIStory 3: Make our days count and HIStory 4: Close to you (I know...don't judge me), but as a whole series I really like this one the most. Perhaps because it is something different with the whole Volleyball thing or because I think the main couple is just so sweet. I don't know, I like to rewatch it from time to time. You can watch it on Viki.

Bad Buddy

My first asian bl ever. I am so happy I could start with this one. I love the story of Pat and Pran. Enemies to lovers is something else and they did a really good job. And their love was so vulnerable and sweet. Even though Pat always tried to be the strong kind of macho man, he was soft and sweet with Pran and it was so cute to watch. And the iconic rooftop scene! What a scene! It is free on Youtube.

Long Time No See

Another movie. I don't want to spoil anything. This has assasins and mafia and love and romance and sweetness and blood and fighting. It is not the typical bl stuff, it is more mature, but a really good action movie in my eyes. I liked the drama and the action scenes. As it is leaving GagaOOLala soon, I just rewatched it and it is still good!

Semantic Error

I don't know how many times I rewatched this one. The enemies to lovers story that just melts my heart. I am reading the manhwa and this is so explicit! The series is so tuned down from the original. Nevertheless I love the story of how SangWoo made his way into JaeYoungs heart and melted our all hearts on the way. This one is on Viki.

Old Fashion Cupcake

The story of the 29 years old Togawa who tries to show 39 years old Nozue how beautiful life can be. And what better way to show him than to eat the most delicious sweets ever. I am always hungry and craving for sweets after watching this. This series gives hope. You are never too old to start enjoying life and to allow yourself to love again, even if the person is ten years younger. And another one you can watch on Viki.

Love Mechanics

I guess this is here because of YinWar. I mean, their chemistry is through the roof! The story itself...well...cheating and pain and War is crying quite often. But it is still good and I can't stop rewatching it. Yes the story is hurtful and a little bit stupid, but VeeMark are adorable when they are happy and in love. It can be watched on WeTV.

DNA Says Love You

We all love some slow burn, right? I mean, this one is very much slow burning, but with a reason and it is a really interesting story behind all that. It is a complex story with some really good staring and pining and hurt and comfort. You have to watch carefully to understand everything, but it is worth it and the wait while our hearts burn away through the slow burn is worth it too.

Gaya Sa Pelikula (Like in the movies)

This one is...it is cute. I don't know what else to say. It is not the best production, but the story is good and the actors are doing a good job. Karl needs to live on his own because a family tradition says it is a good idea to show early on how to survive alone in this world. So he moves into his uncle's apartment where he meets his neighbour Vlad and because of some reasons the end up living together. I love the soundtrack and their whole story. It is free on Youtube.

Once Again

My favorite bl series of 2022. It tells the story of Shin Jae Woo who deals with childhood trauma and because of some supernatural stuff happening, he jumps back in time to the year he was almost the victime of a crime, but Kang Ji Hoon helped him back then. JaeWoo wants to rescue JiHoon from this path. I was crying through most of the second half of this series. It is just so good. Painful and hurtful. Just watch is you can deal with sad stuff. Everytime I need a good cry, I come back here and it always works its magic. It si on Viki and GagaOOLala.

We best love: No. 1 for you

The true enemies to lovers story. The slow burn and the slow realisation is just so perfect. I feel with Gao Shi De through this whole story. I love to rewtach it and see things I haven't before. And the second season is good as well! Not as good as the first one for me, but still really good. You can watch it on WeTV.

Secret Crush On You

If you manage to get past the first episode full of cringe and you learn things about the characters, you see that these are all of us. The characters are not flawless, they make us cringe, because it feels too real. You can't act normal when you are living your secret crush. And you feel uncomfortable if you don't fit the norms. It is so beautiful to see that there are people out there who love you for who you are. And who isn't afraid to tell the world about it. This series makes my heart feel all the beautiful feelings. It is a little gem out there. And you can watch it for free on youtube.

Well these are my top 20 of all the bls I have watched. It was so much fun! Thank you for this ask!

I guess after this month there are going to be new favorites. Our Dating Sim or A Shoulder To Cry On are some really good shows and I hope they won't mess it up in the end like Oh! My Assistent did.

Have a beautiful day and stay happy and healthy! 💜

[bengiyo]

BL 2022 Review

I debated how I would go about reviewing this year, and quickly tossed out any sort of list approach. Anything like a top 10 or 20 would feel disrespectful to many of the smaller projects I watched this year that had something worthwhile to discuss. Instead, I’ve decided to talk about BL with major topics that stick with me as I review the 80+ shows I watched this year. 

Reviewing the totals, as of the writing of this post I have completed, attempted, or am watching three shows from the Philippines, 49 from Thailand, five from Taiwan, 20 from South Korea, one from mainland China, 14 from Japan, and five from the West, for a total of 79 completed or watching plus 13 attempted. This included other QL projects as well. I’m reviewing a list of all BL projects from this year and the number was approximately 131. We’ve never had more choice than this, and I absolutely cannot watch this much again next year. 

In this long essay, I plan to talk about what I enjoyed out of the actor chemistry this year, the ways BL has become more political, how specific and powerful coming of age narratives continue to be in genre, the ways BL used the supernatural to talk about grief and loss, the intergenerational relationships appearing in genre, the expansion of the genre into adulthood, the ongoing competition amongst college narratives, our first forays into GL, and the continued divide with the West. That’s a lot, so I’m just going to put all of that behind a cut.

First, Some Thanks

Before we get started, I want to give shoutouts to the clowns I got to know this year and who have been so much fun to engage with this year since we met on Bad Buddy. In no particular order: @shortpplfedup​, @kyr-kun-chan​, @liyazaki​, @elnotwoods​, @flukenatouch​, @gilly-bean​, and so many more whose handles I always forget outside of our other chats. Also a shout out to the 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us fandom. We were tiny, but I loved interacting with all of you.  

The Boys Who Were Ready to Risk It All

I don’t always require the boys to have high levels of heat in my romances, but I do like believing that the characters genuinely desire each other. With Japan reentering the genre with their specific brand of reticence, and with Korea clearing the lane for their own form of clean romance*, I was not surprised to see Thailand turning up the heat in their shows to compete. All-in-all, this was an absolutely stellar year for chemistry across the board. 

Starting with the Philippines, I noticed that I watched far fewer shows from them this year, but two in particular made me BELIEVE. In Gameboys 2 Elijah Canlas and Kokoy de Santos continued to display the absolutely electric and believable desire between Cairo and Gavreel. You could feel how suddenly their attraction came on, and the desperation of their quarantine bubble’s time ticking away as they tried to make being a couple work. I especially enjoyed how they explored their differing levels in sexual experience and readiness before delivering one of the better bed scenes of the year.

Meanwhile, in Sleep With Me Janine and Lovi made the first time between Harry and Luna look genuinely fun for their characters. The morning after sharing between them was one of the most comfortably intimate things I’ve seen all year.

Thailand offered up a wide array this year, from the extremely light or chaste La Cuisine and 21 Days Theory; to the passionate in Dear Doctor, I’m Coming for Soul and Triage, to the shows-with-something-to-prove in KinnPorsche, Love in the Air, and Love Mechanics. However, I’d like to highlight how much I genuinely believed in the sexual desire from Mile and Apo in KinnPorsche, Boy and Tod in Ghost Host, Ghost House; Zee and NuNew in Cutie Pie; both Boss and Noeul, and Peat and Forth, in Love in the Air; and Mos and ISBANKY in Big Dragon. No disrespect to Yin and War, but we already knew they could bring it. 

With Apo and Mile, we saw expressions of sexual acts and desire from guys in this genre that it almost feels taboo for the genre to use with its preference for top/bottom acts. “A blowjob in a helicopter” became a “jumping the shark” joke for this year for a lot of valid reasons, but Kinn and Porsche engaging in mutual masturbation and oral sex was the most refreshing part of the sexual chemistry of that show.

Tod and Boy gave such a believable show of wanting each other that it gave me flashbacks to ITSAY Episode 3. Pluem’s clear love for Kevin’s legs, and their frank conversation about sex and readiness, along with their language play about making each other equal with English pronouns, made them one of my standouts for the year. Beyond that, the way they quickly fell into casual intimacy in the latter half the show elevates it above much this year.

We knew Zee could deliver on heat from Why R U (2020) with Saint, but I was surprised by how effectively he arrived at that same level with newcomer New Chawarin. I still think about the kitchen scene where Lian lifts Nu-Kuea onto the counter to stare up at him with open love and desire as he reassures him that he is everything to him. Thai fans jokingly review bombed the kettle model used in that scene for interrupting it, that’s how intense that scene was.

As usual with MAME, Me Mind Y casts for high heat and chemistry well, and clearly has an effective process for building up physical comfort between their casts, because everyone brought so much enthusiasm to their scenes that they literally let Boss and Noeul take charge of their own bed scenes. During my watch, I praised the way they used angles to allow for some actor modesty, and it’s clear everyone had fun working with their partner. Truly something special. There is a lot to unpack with Love in the Air, and I don’t think it’s for everyone, but in terms of heat, the cast delivered.

Speaking of shows that didn’t really work for me, I wasn’t a fan of Big Dragon. That being said, ISBANKY and Mos were absolutely willing to go there physically with each other, and managed varying levels of emotion and intensity in their intimate scenes across the season. I didn’t want to end the year without acknowledging that. 

As expected from Japan, they were about as chaste as I expect them to be outside of their darker BLs, but we have a few things worth mentioning. The final minutes of episode 4 of Old Fashion Cupcake was the most sexually charged interaction to come out of Japan all year, and I’m glad it happened between characters in their 30s and 40s.

I was proud of Minato’s Laundromat for delivering a satisfying pair of kisses in the finale, and confirming that the characters were finally getting it in in the final shot. We also got some solid bed work from Sora Inoue and Komiya Rio in Eternal Yesterday, but the fact that Koichi was dead probably excused that for Japan’s weird relationship with onscreen intimacy. Finally, we almost hit something really interesting about first desire in Takara-kun to Amagi-kun, but the show backed off and never went back.

While we’re talking about heat and Japan, I’m going to vent for the final time that the show was called Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss!” and yet they didn’t give a satisfying kiss! Something MBS kept experimenting with this year was having a dubcon or asymmetric emotional kiss very early in their shows, and then not delivering on a good couple one later. It felt a bit cheap and manipulative, and I’m quite glad we didn’t get that in Eternal Yesterday nor so far (as of episode 2) of Color Candy Paradox. 

With Korea, this was as @absolutebl​ calls it, the year Korea learned that boys can kiss. We returned to To My Star 2 this year for a very messy BL that I loved for the chemistry between the leads. Hwang Da Seul did it twice with the pair in Blueming.

Watcha showed a willingness to go there with Semantic Error with the Parks that was a real relief after the forgettable kiss in Light on Me the previous year. Strongberry proved again why they’re one of the best with both couple dynamics in Choco Milk Shake, the Cherry Blossoms After Winter pair were willing to go there, and the branded pair from Kissable Lips did it twice this year with Roommates of Poongduck 304. Holland and Han Gi Chan did a decent job in Ocean Likes Me, which was significant for me because Holland is a Known Gay. Seriously, Korea came to play this year.

*NOTE: Because of the impacts of military occupation in the first half of the 20th century, I don’t often comment on Korea’s particular brand of kissing or heat levels. If they’re still sorting out how they want to be perceived when it comes to intimacy and romance, I’ve elected to stay out of that cultural conversation and praise what I enjoy only. 

BL Got Political

Across the board, it felt like BL realized it could not longer remain politically neutral and remain relevant. Almost every Thai show went out of its way to call for marriage equality this year, with the standouts being Cutie Pie for its entire focus on marriage and Big Dragon with a memorable lament about the issue. From Japan, Cherry Magic: The Movie elegantly illustrated why marriage is so important for queer couples.

I want to highlight the shows that went a bit further and explored some queer themes beyond the ongoing struggle for marriage equality in Thailand.

In 21 Days Theory, we had a side plot where Q’s gay uncle traveled with Q’s mom to talk to their father off-screen about Man’s queerness and start rebuilding their relationship.

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us focused on the way bullying and internalized homophobia leave wounds that shatter the people connected to that trauma, and became one of my standout shows of the year.

My Only 12% asked what the value was in queer media that leaves queer people feeling sad and broken at the end by questioning the role of Love of Siam (2007) in our history.

Papa & Daddy 2 challenged the artifice of rainbow capitalism and how only an acceptable brand of queerness is allowed to make money.

DNA Says I Love You explored a section of the alphabet mafia that we rarely touch upon (I don’t want to spoil it).

Both Not Me and The Eclipse challenged the structures of Thai society.

Outside of BL, Koisenu Futari did not mince words in its demands that aromantic asexual people should not be forced to form procreative units for the sake of others happiness.

We accelerated rather quickly on this, but it’s good to see that the makers within the genre know the score.

The Summer ‘22 High School Extravaganza

Starting this summer, we were treated to an amazing series of shows exploring first love in high school with Minato’s Laundromat and Takara-kun & Amagi-kun from Japan; About Youth from Taiwan; 21 Days Theory, My Only 12%, and The Eclipse from Thailand. We didn’t let up into the fall with Eternal Yesterday, and the currently-airing My School President.

There were so many shows this year, but statistically, the high school shows made up such a small portion of the genre overall. I appreciated how all of these shows tackled the commonalities of coming of age. 

With Minato’s Laundromat, we got to see Shin struggle against the barriers that said he couldn’t care for someone older than him, while Minato struggled with the way he’d refused to let himself mature from his own internalized homophobia.

We got to experience first desire and intense infatuation in Takara-kun to Amagi-kun, and how you’ll need the help of your friends to manage that intensity.

We had an absolutely adorable pair of couples falling in love in About Youth in the gentlest of these shows. Truly, this is a show so enjoyable that I have watched it more than once on my own.

My Only 12% explored the reality of falling in love with your best friend, and having them finally fall back years later as you also come to terms with your own queerness.

The Eclipse tackled the institutional and long-term effects of internalized homophobia across nine different characters and how they were all impacted by it.

21 Days Theory gave us a somewhat messy process of falling in love, but gave us support from a queer elder that let the show end up being shorter.

My School President is shaping into the much-needed successor to Lovesick and is turning Bad Buddy into a blueprint.

Finally, Eternal Yesterday tackled the grief of losing your first loved one unexpectedly to tragedy with a grace I think only Japan could pull off.

Yes, there were a lot of high school shows this year, but I think they were among the best offerings this year.

Ghosts! The Supernatural as Allegory for Grief

With BL reaching for higher concepts to stand out in the crowd, supernatural stories opened up spaces for shows to explore impossible romances and grief within the genre. I wrote extensively about how Eternal Yesterday tackled this, and how it is beneficial for some viewers to unpack their feelings. Even though I didn’t enjoy all of the shows I will mention in this section, I want to reiterate that I don’t ever want creators to stop trying to reach a strong thematic core with these supernatural concepts. 

Thailand displayed a specific notion about posthumous bureaucracy in both Dear Doctor, I’m Coming For Soul, Something in My Room, and Ghost Host, Ghost House. All three of these shows expressed a ton of rules about the afterlife for ghosts that I couldn’t always track, but has felt specifically Thai. Ghost House stood out for me amongst these offerings with the way Kevin continued to mourn his friend who died in the US, and how the ghost of his friend continued to protect Kevin without his knowledge.Something in My Room ended up feeling like a weaker version of He’s Coming to Me (2019). 

Japan relied on magical forces to draw people together in Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But To Kiss! and Cherry Magic: The Movie. The yin and yang dynamics about unluckiness and luckiness led to a truly enjoyable pairing between the leads. Adachi not losing his powers until he was truly ready to connect to Kurosawa ended up being far more enjoyable than I expected. Meanwhile, in Korea, Color Rush 2 without one of the leads ultimately left the series feeling incomplete on a somewhat disappointing note.

Korea has had three different reincarnation stories this year with First Love, Again; Choco Milk Shake, and The Director Who Buys Me Dinner. Choco Milk Shake ends up being the weirdest, what with Jungwoo’s pets reincarnating as very hot human men to try and help him manage his loneliness. In the other two shows, one partner is either immortal or has full recollection of his previous lives as he tries to reconnect with the other partner.

Kissable Lips tried out vampires, mostly unsuccessfully. Without enough time, it didn’t get to explore some complex themes about long-lived beings. Interview With the Vampire will be the queer vampire show that gets remembered this year for the toxicity of their failed marriage and the abuses therein.

We had two different time loop shows with Triage from Thailand, and Once Again from Korea. I enjoyed Triage more for the way it showed how hard it is not to love someone when you become obsessed with them, but there was something special about the painful way Once Again doled out a sliver of hope.

Vice Versa managed to tell something interesting with the body swapping across universes concept, even if I found myself frustrated with one of the leads. Self also attempted to use the supernatural with a character losing his reflection, but it ultimately felt like a plot delivery shorthand.

Whew! For all the talk about the number of high school shows we got this year, we had more supernatural ones.

Finally: Adults to Take To Brunch

We had a lot of standout adults this year that I want to highlight. Inter-generational queer relationships are extremely important to me. No matter how loving and supportive families may be, most queer people are going to be raised by straight people. We have to venture out to find our people and each other. So, being able to find that within your family or within your own community is so important. As such, these are the characters from this year I’d want to take to brunch and hang out with.

My favorite pair this year are Cheep and Dej from My Ride. The breakfast they share with Mork and Tawan in episode 8 about how maintaining a long term relationship is not so much about amorous love and romance, but more about trust, commitment, and communication. The frankness with which they discuss how they don’t always get along, and yet continue to choose each other, was so stellar. I hope someday to have a love as durable as theirs.

I also want to mention Uncle Man in 21 Days Theory. I suspect the show introduced a gay uncle to accommodate its short run time. They needed a queer presence to explain Q’s familiarity with queerness, and Uncle Man’s advice and guidance saved us a lot of navel gazing as a character came to understand himself. Regardless, at one point in the show, Q gets jealous of Man because he thinks Man is flirting with X. Man pulls his nephew aside and reads him to pieces for being so irrational, and reminds Q that he’s not interested in boys. It was such a stellar moment that has stuck with me for months.

Framboise from Kabe Koji Nekoyashiki-kun Desires to be Recognized is probably my favorite character of the year. From his first appearance, he radiates queer self love and joy. He is so excited to be amongst his people and connect with them, and them to each other. He gives solid advice in the few interactions we had with him, and he’s so determined to make sure Mamouru joins in with other creators. I have so much more to say about him, but know that he is what I aspire to be. (Gif credit to @liyazaki​, used with permission)

Alex from My Tooth Your Love needs to join us so he can have a break from holding the entire restaurant together. Alex may have been stern, but it was so fun to see a character set in where he was in his life while helping take care of others. He also deserves to be teased for being so fond of a baby gay.

Mama Xu from About Youth is also invited to the brunch. Not only has she managed to keep her son in good spirits after the painful loss of his father even as her brother terrorizes them, she also does that while staying out of his business.When Ye Guang came to her for advice about Qi Zhang, she kept her advice nonspecific enough that she didn’t invade their relationship. I love her, and she deserves to be pampered.

Though he had such a small role that they only named him Uncle, Uncle from Choco Milk Shake needs to join us because of the way he’s clearly supported his nephew without judgment for years, even knowing that a deep melancholy gripped him. 

While talking about My Tooth Your Love, all of the 30-somethings that got together this year are welcome at brunch, including Xun’an and Bai Lang from My Tooth Your Love; Nomoto Yuki and Totoko Kasuga from She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat; Togawa and Nozue from Old Fashion Cupcake; the entire adult cast of Papa & Daddy 2; Seo Joon and Ji Woo from To My Star 2; and the entire adult cast of Plus & Minus.

Lian and Yi from Cutie Pie are not invited because they are too wrapped up in the lives of young 20s folks and will bring the wrong energy to the brunch. Speaking of which, we’ve invited enough people that this has turned into a luncheon. 

QL Got Jobs This Year

One of the real joys of being part of the genre for so long is seeing enough money enter the field  that we can afford to leave the school settings. This year, we finally started seeing office romances more often. 

Scrolling through my watch list reveals: 609 Bedtime Story, 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us, Accomplishment of Fudanshi Bartender, Candy Color Paradox, Check Out, Cherry Magic: The Movie, Choco Milk Shake, Close Friend S2, Coffee Melody, Dear Doctor I’m Coming for Soul, The Director Who Buys Me Dinner, Even Sun, First Love Again, Gameboys 2, GAP, Ghost Host Ghost House, Happy Ending Romance, Kabe Koji Nekoyashiki-kun Desire to be Recognized, KinnPorsche, Koisenu Futari, Love Stage!!, Meow Ears Up, My Ride, My Tooth Your Love,The New Employee, Ocean Likes Me, Oh! Boarding House, Oh! My Assistant, Old Fashion Cupcake, On Cloud Nine, Physical Therapy, Plus & Minus, Rainbow Prince, Roommates of Poongduck 304, Senpai This Can’t be Love!, She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, Sleep With Me, Sky in Your Heart, Tinted With You, That’s My Candy, To My Star 2, Triage, To Sir With Love, The Tuxedo, Vice Versa, War of Y, and What Zabb Man!. 

That’s 47 shows; that’s more than half my watch list. We can talk about how much stuff happens in school settings, but we had some options this year!

In a real relief for me, we started to see more workplace romances or romances starting between adults. Early in the year it started with My Ride for me, and then the slate of Korean shows. I suspect it comes down to where it was pragmatic to shoot. In Seoul, there’s probably office space for rent for these sorts of productions because of kdrama, whereas Thailand seems to have a disused campus that hosts many of the shows. Still, I count at least 16 that involve people falling for people they work with.

A special note for the Philippines: Rainbow Prince was fantastic. Yes, the production values are way lower than most people’s tastes, but that show was so funny. They absolutely committed to being the first BL musical, and the songs are a ton of fun. That show has “a heart so big it could crush this town.” It even does the classic musical thing of giving an antagonist one of the better songs on the set.

Looking at the projects being advertised next year, we might see non-school shows take the vast majority. What a time for us!

The College Shows That Didn’t Suck

Where I found that the high school shows have done a fantastic job this year, the college shows were really hit or miss for me. I’m not sure if it’s because that particular setting has run out of intriguing ideas, but I want to highlight the shows that I think didn’t suck.

First up: Thailand.  You’re My Sky felt like the first true post-ITSAY pulp. They really reached for solid production values and tried to bring a higher level of cinematography. I also think they handled the three relationships really well. Many folks dropped it, but it was a quiet gem of this year for me. Cutie Pie was a bit of a slog sometimes, but I still recommend it. Mark and Vee are not my favorite pairing, but the new version of Love Mechanics was still well done. It needed a side couple though.

Next: Japan. Despite my gripes, Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But To Kiss! was actually a really fun watch. Obviously we can’t end a year without acknowledging the continued parody fun of Absolute BL 2.

Finally: Korea. Semantic Error is going to be one of the banner shows of this year when we refer back to this year and talk about how people got into BL, what with the way it brought K-pop fans into the genre. Blueming gave us another stellar entry from Hwang Da Seul (To My Star). While I don’t really enjoy stepbrothers pairings, Cherry Blossoms After Winter was compelling. Love Class held its own, even if it wasn’t exactly to my taste.

Finally, though it isn’t exactly a school show, DNA Says I Love You is a really special show from Taiwan worth checking out.

LET’S GO LESBIANS! We Finally Had Multiple Quality GL Offerings

We finally started seeing GL productions on the field. Surprisingly, Korea has had the most offerings. I’ve watched She Makes My Heart Flutter and Our Relationship Ended Before it Began. My favorite pieces so far are Sleep With Me and GAP.

Sleep With Me worked so well because of the way they focused on disability and how it impacts romance. The queerness mattered to the storytelling, but it doesn’t spend much time in angst about that, when their material concerts are so much more present. I’ve been shouting for months for more people to watch it, so please sign up on Gaga and watch it. You can check out the first episode on YouTube.

GAP is still airing, but oh my goodness am I having fun with the costuming on this show. There is a specific lesbian gaze to this show that has been so refreshing to experience. It’s even unlocked all new tropes with us with “let me put this lipstick on you so I can taste it.”

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat feels like the lesbian little sister to What Did You Eat Yesterday? Unlike WDYEY, the pair are not together at the beginning, but it has been a darling of a show that I really hope NHK continues next year. I do love the shows where everyone cooks.

In Koisenu Futari, we got to see two aromantic asexual people build a platonic support system together while dealing with a lot of unwanted allosexual scrutiny. This was one of the most vital things I watched this year.

While there aren’t a ton of offerings yet, it’s been an encouraging start. 

Meanwhile, In the West

Though it pains me how many Western fans of queer media will not cross over into BL, there were some things from the West I enjoyed this year. 

Closest to BL, I enjoyed Heartstopper and Young Royals. Both fit into the same coming of age space BL loves and were easy recommendations for people who enjoy high school romance. 

Probably my favorite show was Chucky. That the Chucky character has been terrorizing victims across five decades is amazing, and I’ve enjoyed how some of the queer themes always at the core of the series are now front and center. A young romance between two boys undergirds much of the drama of the first two seasons, and it's a rare American show that became appointment television for me.

The biggest surprise of the year for me came from HBO with Our Flag Means Death. Obviously, we all know that pirates are gay culture, but I was not expecting HBO to be this explicit and play a textual romance out between Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi as Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard respectively. It also featured an explicit open relationship between two other crewmembers, and had a clearly nonbinary character aboard as well. All of this is handled with a comedic grace that felt so easy.

Also distributed by HBO is the Canadian show Sort Of, in which a trans-nonbinary nanny deals with the fallout of one of the parents falling into a coma. I first saw it at TIFF 2021, and it is really just so good. It’s hard to really sell in text like this, but it’s a fantastic show.

Finally, of what I watched, AMC gave us an adaptation of Interview With the Vampire, that shows a gay romance souring into something truly toxic over decades. I had a few qualms with specific choices the team made, but this show was absolutely compelling.

While I’m impressed with a few of the offerings we have here, I’m still not sold on Western queer storytelling funded by the major distribution systems. 

So…What’s Next?

That’s the real question, isn’t it? I think, for me, I’m going to have to be more discerning next year. Watching this much stuff really isn’t sustainable for me anymore, and it means I’m going to have to pick my winners, because I find I have little time to catch up on shows. I also enjoy the week-to-week interaction about shows too much to be late to the party. 

Overall, I’m genuinely encouraged by what I’ve seen teased so far for next year. GMMTV is getting more confident in its post-school storytelling, and is doubling down on using veteran talent instead of newbies to lead their shows. With their original stable starting to age up, they’re trying out more high-concept stuff. The Midnight Series begins airing this week, and I think will be our first glimpse of what’s to come. 

Beyond GMMTV, Star Hunter Entertainment and Domundi seem like they’re going to hold strong for the coming year. Me Mind Y also doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. That means we’ll be covered on high heat and genre stories as well. Finally, Wayufilm is still active, so we’ll continue to see them experiment.

Unfortunately, I don’t see Korea taking a big leap forward yet. They seem satisfied with the 20 minutes max for their shows and at most 8 episodes. Still, I expect them to dominate the low-heat shows that focus exclusively on romance. 

I’m not sure what to expect from Japan after this year of BL o’clock ends for MBS. My only hope is that the relationships with GagaOOlala and Viki don’t end, and what new productions do come out Japan make it onto both platforms. 

I worry about the Philippines getting too walled in. I haven’t been able to watch a production from The IdeaFirst Company easily in a very long time, and I don’t know what’s going on with their international distribution anymore. I’m still watching to watch Pa Thirsty and Two and One. I have hopes for Oxin Films’ next productions, but they always seem to be working on a thin budget that delays their projects.

I’ve also fallen off of Vietnamese productions for now. The fundraising pushes are too much for me. 

That’s all from me. It’s been the most enjoyable year in BL I’ve ever had, and maybe all of queer media. It’s so fun seeing different kinds of BL fans in the space now find their niches, and to see fandom wars moving off my dashboard as people find other people to engage with instead. We passed supersaturation a long time ago, so I hope the bubble doesn’t burst any time soon. 

See you all next year!