#takumi-kun series 2: rainbow colored glass

[ineffable-opinions]

School Culture & Male Androphilia in Japan

[This is part of a series on Takumi-kun 6. The aim of this piece is to discuss the origins of student culture and male androphilia & how it plays out in Takumi-kun series.]

Takumi-kun series is an early BL novel by Shinobu Gotoh with an enduring legacy. It is also an on-going work as we follow Takumi-kun and others beyond their student (gakusei) days and into adult (shakaijin) life.

Takumi-kun series is mostly set in an all-males boarding school Shido Academy. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, pre-modern Japan has a long tradition of male androphilia[1], much of which was age-stratified, class-stratified or both and involved strict/normative inserter/insertee dichotomy. BL has inherited (such as in seme/uke dynamics) and bastardized (such as with younger seme/older uke pairing) traditions of male androphilia in its tropes. Let's discuss a bit of the history before diving into how Shinobu Gotoh plays around with the setup of boarding school male-male sexuality that emerged in the Meiji period.

Part 1

[ Main resource used for this part of the write-up is the chapter titled “Toward the Margins: Male-Male Sexuality in Meiji Popular Discourse” from the book Cartographies of Desire: Male-Male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600-1950 by Gregory M. Pflugfelder. ]

What Review of Senryu From Meiji Japan Reveals

Meiji period Japan saw transformation of Japanese customary male-male sexuality ‘within the newly established framework of a centralized nation-state’.

…male-male sexuality, which had enjoyed a prominent and respectable place in Edo-period popular texts, came during Meiji times to be routinely represented as “barbarous,” “immoral,” or simply “unspeakable.”

The marginalization of male-male sexuality can be traced through its representation in senryü verse composed during that period. In post-Meiji Restoration popular humor Yoshichö districts of Edo well-known for organized sex work was no longer associated with the kagema or male sex worker. Instead, it was associated with female geisha, mirroring the 18th centuary decline of kagema teahouse and their shutdown by local authorities'. Once mainstream male-male sex work had to go underground and faded from popular memory.

Just as old customs were forgotten, new ones emerged in senryu of 1880.

Two figures […] associated with male-male sexuality were the bantö and detchi—clerk and apprentice, respectively, in a commercial house. The bantö wielded considerable authority over other employees, and had been portrayed in senryü since the Edo period indulging his lechery with young male coworkers. The detchi, on the other hand, may be seen as the merchant version of the priestly chigo or samurai page boy: male adolescents for whom the favor or disfavor of senior males might have significant consequences for their professional advancement.

Meanwhile male-male sexuality involving Buddhist priests went from being considered ‘a lesser transgression than fornication with women’ and a ‘contradiction between the priest's personal indulgence and the ascetic ideals of his religion” to an “emblem of “ancient evils” (kyühei) in dire need of reform’ and ‘a criminal offense’.

Following period saw state regulation of representation of sexuality in media (print media, theatre and paintings - artist Kawanabe Kyösai’s erotic drawing of Meiji oligarch Sanjö Sanetomi & a male foreigner landed him in jail; not much different from jailing of ero BL creators in present day[2]) and a shift in popular discourse that deemed that male-male eroticism has no place in the “civilized” environment of Meiji. Male-male sexuality was further marginalized through silence resulting from ‘state censorship, editorial discretion, authorial inclination, public taste’, etc. Meiji journalists continued reporting on male-male sexuality but adopted a tone of moralistic outrage and condemnation.

In the demarcation of civilized behavior, male-male sexuality was relegated to ‘the Japanese past, the southwestern periphery, and the world of adolescence’.

Japanese Past

‘Male-male erotic practices lay in the past’ which was seen as ‘a backward and “feudal” age, whose institutions and customs Japan must abandon in order to achieve “civilization.”’

Meiji era authors depicted male-male sexuality with historical backdrop (such as samurai society of the Sengoku and Edo eras) that would excuse their representation in the name of historical accuracy. [This is in contrast to say depiction in cinema which has largely avoided depiction of nanshoku with exception of Taboo (1999) and Kubi (2023).]

Pflugfelder gives a couple of examples:

Higeotoko (Man with a Beard; 1890–1896) by Köda Rohan – very shonen ai about the whole thing – involved light hand-holding and fade to blank.

Kagema no adauchi (Kagema's Vendetta; 1899) by Jöno Denpei –about a professional “love boy”. As a person born in 1832 Jöno was familiar with male sex workers like the protagonist from his childhood. But the practice has thoroughly disappeared from the cultural fabric by 1899 that Jöno had to introduce the protagonist whose profession was “disgraceful” “from today's perspective” and his gender identity ambiguous.

Marginalization of Male-Male Sexuality Was Japan's Southwestern Periphery

Centered around Kagoshima prefecture (the former domain of Satsuma), the region encompassed various parts of Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu. During the Meiji period, it was popularly believed that male-male erotic practices were more prevalent here than in the rest of Japan. Other than the obvious geographic distinction, there was a social reason too for this distinction. It was believed the region was a stronghold of old customs with lasting imprints of samurai class and the high concentration of warrior families. Satsuma had customary homosocial groups with strict sex-segregation practices such as hekogumi and gojü until the Restoration.

Male-male erotic interaction […] was reportedly common within such groups.

… the martial ethos of the samurai class slowly dissolved under the pressure of social change and “civilized morality.” Contemporary observers correlated the deterioration of shiki or “warrior morale” with a decline in male-male erotic practices.[3]

During the Meiji period, southwestern region (Kagoshima in particular) was known for its male-male sexual practices. These practices were seen as regional peculiarities, distinct from the mainstream culture centered in Tokyo. The southwestern region was viewed as a “feudal” backwater, and the association of male-male erotic practices with this area underscored their perceived “uncivilized” nature. Instead of being seen as a universal practice [the way shudo was percieved], male-male sexuality was considered a “folkway” (füzokü) surviving on the cultural margins of a newly “civilized” nation-state. In the 20th century, sexologists further marginalized these practices by diagnosing regions like Kagoshima with a hereditary condition called “regional same-sex love” (chihôteki döseiai). This effectively contained male-male sexuality within specific geographical and cultural boundaries.

Moreover, from Kagoshima men’s regional identity imperial navy and seafaring got associated with male-male eroticism in Meiji Japan.

male-male sexuality & the world of adolescence

… the sexual object in shudö had always been defined as a young male. In Meiji popular discourse, as in that of the Edo period, it was generally understood that youthfulness formed one of the conditions of male-male erotic desirability. More and more commonly, however, the desiring party too was presumed to be an adolescent, older than his partner as a rule, but neither of them yet an adult.

‘Adolescence (seishun) as an “institutionalized moratorium between childhood and adulthood” [allowed for a] social space where adult standards did not fully apply’. This also allowed male-male sexuality which had gained the status of uncivilized behavior to be excused as ‘youthful folly’.

Institutions of formal education were around since Edo period and so was male-male erotic practices in them. Not only that but also ‘violence between rivals in love’. Following the Restoration, schools mushroomed throughout Japan with an added emphasis on education as a vehicle for social mobility. Students, tasked with future nation building, were expected to be diligent in their study and to stay away from sexual diversion. Male-male sexuality in schools were not just that in discourse of the day but was inextricably linked with ‘shifting definitions of masculinity, regional and political rivalries, and the ongoing “civilization” of morality’. 

Mori Ögai - father of Mori Mari who wrote the first BL

Two terms born out of Mori Ögai's 1909 novel critiquing naturalism[4] Wita sekusuarisu (Vita Sexualis) köha and nanpa were used in discourses surrounding male-male sexuality among students. The term köha (translated as “roughnecks” by Pflugfelder and “queers” by Kazuji Ninomiya and Sanford Goldstein) referred to students who eschewed interest in male-female eroticism instead engaged in male-male sexual relations. This was in contrast to their nanpa (translated as “smoothies” by Pflugfelder and “mashers” by Kazuji Ninomiya and Sanford Goldstein) classmates.

[These are penetrator roles but not fixed categories. Students did move from one category to another even in Mori's novel. "Boy" (shonen) who were penetrated could take up penetrator role later on.]

“Smoothies” […] did not tuck up their sleeves or swagger about with menacing shoulders like their “roughneck” peers, but instead dandified themselves in silk kimonos and white socks (tabi) in order to win the favor of women.

In Mori’s school köha student were mostly from Kyushu and southwest Honshu prefecture of Yamaguchi while nanpa were from northeastern region. This regional distinction shows up in Tsubouchi Shöyö's novel Tösei shosei katagi (Spirit of Present Day Students; 1885–1886) wherein Kiriyama Benroku a quintessential köha is a native of Kyushu who wears coarse garb and is contrasted against his classmates womanizing peers not only by his leaning towards samurai ideals of masculinity but also by his interest in his companion Miyaga.

The köha-style of masculinity was modelled on engaging brute strength even in erotic dealings. Moreover ‘the strict age hierarchy that prevailed in student society constrained the very notion of consent, since junior males were in principle supposed to obey the dictates of senior schoolmates.’

In such an environment, male-male sexual practices often took a predatory form, with younger students providing fodder for older ones.

However, there were also non-forced köha-shonen sexual relations too.

Mori describes, for instance, a set of crude hand signals whereby a “boy” could consent to or refuse a senior male's overtures; subtler forms of seduction involved treats, favors, and the prospect of “special protection” (tokubetsu na hogo) by the older party.

Meiji newspapers was eager to cover köha violence wherein the older students who preyed upon “beautiful boy” in the streets of Tokyo and other Meiji cities or fought over a “beautiful boy”. They stood to gain readership especially those from middle- and upper-class who were likely to send their kids to boarding schools. It also fit well in the political context with journalistic crusade aimed at male-male sexuality & exploitation as a “Satsuma habit” in a time when ‘domination of the national government by the so-called “Satsuma clique” (Satsubatsu) faced mounting criticism’.

The portrayal of köha by journalists in post-Restoration Japan led to a strong association between male-male sexuality and adolescence. This association was so strong that any discussion of male-male sexuality would inevitably reference student societies and dormitories as common places for such relationships. Furthermore, accounts of school life often highlighted the culture of male-male eroticism as a distinctive feature. This is evident in memoirs by several notable figures such as Ösugi Sakae (himself a former köha), Iwaya Saza-nami, Ubukata Toshirô, as well as in literary works by Dazai Osamu, Hori Tatsuo, Kawabata Yasunari, Mushanoköji Saneatsu, Origuchi Shinobu, Satomi Ton, Tanizaki Jun’ichirö, and Uno Köji.

Chigo-nise ties (that is, erotic relationships between junior and senior youths) were reportedly common [in Kagoshima] as late as the 1940s, while student memoirs and other accounts describe similar attachments in schools outside the region. With the twentieth-century rise of the notion of [döseiai] “same-sex love,” however, popular representations of such relationships would come increasingly to focus on their psychological features, rather than on physical predation of the Meiji type.    

The other half of the ‘asymmetric dyad that made up a male-male erotic relationship’, the sexually penetrated partner, is referred to as ‘shonen’ (boy) in student lingo. By then a mix of inherited knowledge from various arena – Japanese past, classical Chinese, and contemporary forensic pathology – entered public discourse such as seen in Kömurö Shujin's Bishönenron (On the Beautiful Boy).

In Kömurö Shujin's work, the primary effect of this paradigm was to bring to the fore the psychology and physiology of the “beautiful boy” in a manner that would become increasingly common as the century progressed. Kömurö Shujin cited an impressive array of Western authorities on “same-sex love,” most of them doctors or scientists who believed that the “passive” partner in male-male intercourse differed from others of his sex on the basis of certain mental and physical peculiarities, both inborn and acquired. At the same time, the author's understanding of Western sexology was filtered through a set of native assumptions, emerging in a form that often differed in telling ways from the intentions of the original theorists.

Masculinity of wakashu was rarely ever problematized during Edo period. But with the medicalization of male-male sexuality led to attribution of “effemination” with “passive” partner put forth by Western sexologists as Richard von Krafft-Ebing to gain traction in Japan and persist.

[Parallels can be found in bishonen (beautiful boy) stock in BL deemed feminine by readers unfamiliar with the bishonen aesthetics. For example, misattribution bishonen Ayase even when contrasted with feminine Someya in No Money. This also extends to treatment of seme/uke dynamics as though it is a reflection of heterosexual pairing when it is in fact a pairing of two different masculine aesthetics, not to ignore the misogynistic, xenophobic and colonial conception of men who do not fit into specific masculine aesthetics being deemed unmanly/feminine.

Interestingly, Miki Koichiro the director (and screenwriter) of Pornographer, Given, Zettai BL, Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu  etc. is well versed in the male androphilic traditions (among other queer traditions). We can see him using the term “shonen” when instructing the young actor playing Mob-san’s brother’s friend who has a crush on Mob-san. His usage was perfect, proving that he knows what he is doing.]

Part 2

Relics of traditional androphilia in Takumi-kun series

The norm or at least the expectation is that senior students (senpai) pursue pretty boy (bishonen) juniors (kouhai).

This is what outsiders expect even within the universe the novel series is set in as is seen from the conversation between Gii, his best friend Akaike Shouzou and Namiko (Shouzou’s girlfriend) in Sorera Subete Itoshiki Hibi (Those Were Precious Days), a part that never got live action adaptation.

This plays out in Takumi-kun series in various ways. There are two notable bishonen in Takumi-kun’s batch: Gii with his exotic beauty and the princess-like Takabayashi Izumi. In case of pursuit of Gii plays out in a pretty straight forward manner. He is relentlessly chased by seniors who are interested in Gii and their numerous attempts at wooing him.

Takumi-kun 4 - Gii & Sagara

Notable pursuer is Sagara Takahiro who was in the third year when Gii joins Shidou. Sagara as the school president organized many recreational events hoping Gii would participate and they would grow closer. But Gii refuses to participate except for in the final one which took place in Sagara’s absence, the Shinto Shrine Hunt event that is depicted in Takumi-kun 6. Even though the pursuit plays out straight forwardly, it come to nothing since Gii is not there to be pursued. He is there to pursue Takumi-kun.

In case of Takabayashi Izumi, he turns his most ardent pursuers into a band of followers. This obedient little group of lackeys help him to stir up trouble for his love rival Takumi. Moreover, Takabayashi is one of Gii’s pursuers. This pursuit also doesn’t yield any result as Gii doesn’t entertain any pursuit.

Thus, both bishonen of Takumi’s batch subverts expectations surrounding bishonen by being pursuers.

Takabayashi’s plot gets further complicated when he falls in love with Yoshizawa Michio. Their pairing is that of weak seme x weak uke type – both are reluctant to actively pursue each other and requires external intervention to set their ship in motion.

Meanwhile Misu Arata wishes to be the target of his senior Sagara Takahiro’s affections. He actively participates in Sagara’s events wanting to get close [and they do get close as schoolmates] but Sagara is only interested in Gii.

Takumi-kun 4 - Shingyouji & Misu

Misu’s plot further deviates from the pursued bishonen track when a junior (Shingyouji Kanemi) pursues and eventually gets together with him in a clear inversion of the norm.

Takumi is also pursued by his seniors. Aso Kei’s pursuit is depicted in Takumi-kun 6 while Nozaki Daisuke’s attempts at courtship is depicted in Takumi-kun 1.

Aso Kei is the only one Takumi is comfortable interacting with apart from Katakura Toshihisa (Takumi’s best friend). Aso’s pursuit is aided by Gii who wholeheartedly wishes for Takumi’s happiness irrespective of whom he gets together with. Gii creates opportunities for Aso and Takumi to meet by delegating library duty to Takumi when Aso is around thus getting them to interact. Aso’s courtship fails and he takes it out on Gii by showing off – he lies to him that Takumi agreed to shrine hunt with him. When Gii notices that Takumi doesn’t reciprocate Aso’s feelings, he decides to actively pursue Takumi and turns from Aso’s enabler to rival in love.

Nozaki Daisuke’s pursuit of Takumi plays out within the senior pursuing junior set up. Another classic trope is that of love rivals fighting over a bishonen with both literary and in real life precedents. This is evoked in a race between Gii and Nozaki in Takumi’s name from Takumi-kun 1. Here the love rival’s competition is complicated since Gii is a bishonen who is fought over by many others (Takumi, Takabayashi, Nogawa Masaru*, etc).

* Nogawa Masaru is not depicted in any of the movies as far as I can remember.

Even though the novel series is called Takumi-kun series, there are many parts that doesn’t involve Takumi-kun and some of them are exclusively from the point of view of other characters. All in all, Takumi-kun series is like an anthology of many many love stories involving characters who are directly or indirectly connected to Takumi-kun. There are other stories involving younger pursuer and older pursued with all sorts of seme/uke arrangements. Here are some that I can recall right away:

Even guys who are not androphilic such as Akaike Shouzou gets pursued by seniors (Shibata Shun in Shouzou’s case). But these courtships are doomed from the get go.

Younger guy pursues older – senior & junior, teacher & student, etc.

senior x junior pursuit abandoned to establish senior x senior romance (Moriyama & Shibata) or junior x junior romance.

senior x junior romance sometimes end in heartbreak. (Takumi-kun 2)

senior x senior relationships are abandoned in pursuit of senior x junior relationship.

Sometimes seniors employ their seniority to retain power imbalance. (Misu and Shingyouji)

In case it is not clear, who pursues who has got nothing to do with who is seme, uke or riba and vice versa. Since the novel series involves many pairings, we get to see all sorts of seme/uke/riba dynamics (if we are to call it that given Takumi-kun is a June novel).

-

Footnotes

[1] I prefer using male androphilia because queerness is a bit too vague and in most case in inappropriate since it was the norm. Academics usually use male-male sexuality, male-male desire, male-male eroticism, etc. Male androphilia must not be confused with the narrower term homosexuality.

[2] Danmei author Tian Yi and her companions were sentenced for 10 years for profiting from obscene content on male-male sexuality.

[3] while the courting of “beautiful boys” was a “barbaric custom” (banpü), domain authorities during the Edo period had tacitly encouraged it as a means of preventing young men from going “soft” (nyüjaku) through erotic involvement with women (joshoku).

[4] In the Company of Men: Representations of Male-Male Sexuality In Meiji Literature by Jim Reichert (199-208)

-

Takumi-kun meta series

1.Trailer plus

2.School culture and male androphilia in Japan. (you are here)

3.How does the movie compare with the source novel?

4.How does the movie compare with previous adaptations?

[foralleternityidiot]

absolutely did not break down sobbing when morita made the rainbow appear on the suzuki’s ceiling

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Watches OJBL Takumi-kun Series 2: Rainbow Colored Glass (2009)

[absolutebl]

BL Master Post - List

List of 415 BLs as of mid 2022

This is just a list by request pulled from the Spreadsheet of Doom which contains all 400+ BLs that I have watched, dnf'd, or am currently watching. Dated June 30, 2022. 

It is in order by country (alphabetized) then year (oldest at the top) then rating out of 10. It includes shorts, movies, series, and compilations. In cases where there are multiple country production houses, it will fall under the dominant language (e.g. Peach of Time is under Korea). Feel free to gank. The spreadsheet of doom does contain most of my original sources for these, so if you want help tracking some of the more obscure ones down just ask in a comment. 

I have added these lists by country to the bottom of my History of the Genre posts. 

Japanese BL

Chinese BL

Taiwanese BL

Korean BL

Thai BL

China

2014 Like Love 1: I Love You As A Man: Part 1 - 5 2015 Falling in Love with a Rival: Counterattack - 3 2015 Mr. X and I: Us Against the World - 3 2015 Like Love 2: Nobody Knows But Me - 2 2016 Addicted Heroin - 8 2016 Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet - 5 2016 Irresistible Love 2: Uncontrolled Love - 6 2016 Fanatic Love - 5 2016 Queer Beauty: Oppressive Love - 3 2016 Ghost Boyfriend 1 - 2 2016 The Male Queen: Han Zi Gao - 1 2016 Lost Love - 1 2016 A Round Trip to Love - 1 2017 Customized Companion - dnf 2017 Glass Heart - dnf 2017 Legend of Long Yang: Rebirth 6 2017 Mr. CEO is Falling in Love with Him - 5 2017 Till Death Tear Us Apart: In This Case A Pleasant Lifetime Alone: Love is in a Blaze - 5 2017 His Cat: His Cat Boyfriend - 5 2017 Advance Bravely - 5 2017 The Fairy Fox - 3 2017 Beloved Enemy - 3 2017 Ghost Boyfriend 2 - 2 2017 Love is Not Easy to Have: Rare Love - 2 2017 Swinging Blossom - 2 2017 Find You In The Crowd compilation - 1 2018 River Knows Fish Heart - 6 2018 Guardian - 6 2018 Past Youth - 2 2018 Ghost Boyfriend 3 - 2 2019 Mermaid's Jade - 4 2019 Broken Youth - 4 2020 The Untamed - 6 2020 Precise Shot - 4 2020 Capture Lover - 4 2020 Youth in the Breeze: People of the Skyy compilation - 3 2021 Word of Honor - 8 2021 My Esports Genius Brother - 7 2021 Every Moment that I Think of You - 5 2022 In Your Heart - 2

HONG KONG 

2012 From Here to There - 2 2014 For Love, We Can - 2 2015 I Go To School Not By Bus - 2 2018 S.C.I. - 4 2021 Ossan's Love Love or Dead - 5 2021 I'm a Fool for You 1 & 2 - 4

JAPAN 

2006 Boys Love compilation - 1 2007 Takumi-kun 1: And The Spring Breeze Whispers - 5 2007 Itsuka no Kimi e - 5 2007 Boys Love: The Movie Boys Love 2 AKA Schoolboy Crush - 2 2008 Ai no Kotodama - 5 2008 Gymnasium Baby Taiikukan Baby - 3 2008 Melody of Our Love: Bokura no Ai no Kanade - 3 2008 Forbidden Love - 2 2008 Asymmetry - 2 2009 Takumi-kun 2: Rainbow Colored Glass - 5 2010 Junjou Pure Heart - 6 2010 Ai no Kotodama 2: Sekai no Hate Made - 6 2010 Takumi-kun 3: The Beauty of Detail - 5 2010 Takumi-kun 4: Pure - 4 2011 Takumi-kun 1: DaiMao Version (fan made) - 6 2011 Takumi-kun 5: That, Sunny Blue Sky - 5 2012 Fujimi Orchestra - 3 2013 Love Place: Hakanaki Kata Omoi: Gaiya no Koi: Shape of Happiness 1 - 3 2013 Love Place: Shiawase no Katachi: Shape of Happiness 2 - 4 2014 Docchi Mo Docchi: Same Difference - 5 2014 No Touching At All:  Doushitemo Furetakunai - 5 2014 Coming Out: Kamingu Auto - 3 2015 Seven Days: Monday-Thursday: Friday-Sunday - 10 2015 Candy and Kiss - 7 2015 Wait For Me at Udagawachou: Udagawachou de Matteteyo - 5 2015 Forever Summer - 2 2017 Silhouette of Your Voice: Hidamari ga Kikoeru - 7 2017 Double Mints - 2 2018 Ossan's Love original - 6 2018 Does the Flower Bloom? - 5 2018 Pornographer: The Novelist - 3 2019 What Did You Eat Yesterday?: Kinou Nani Tabeta? - 6 2019 Athlete - 4 2019 His: I Didn't Think I Would Fall In Love - 3 2019 Mood Indigo: Pornographer series - 3 2019 The Shortest Distance is Round (Blanc): Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute - 2 2019 The Shortest Distance is Round (Noir): Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute - 1 2020 Cherry Magic: 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii - 9 2020 Restart After Come Back Home: Risutato wa tadaima no ato de - 8 2020 Life: Love on the Line Life: Senjou no Bokura - 8 2020 His the movie - 6 2020 Love Stage!! :Rabu Suteiji - 5 2020 Sei no Gekiyaku:  Dangerous Drugs of Sex - 4 2020 The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese: Kyuso wa Chizu no Yume wo Miru - 2 2020 The Shortest Distance 3: Fallen Flowers Saitankyori Wa Mawari Kudokute: Rakka Ryūsui Japan 1 2020 The Shortest Distance is Round 2 : Rain and Soda Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute: Ame to Soda Mizu Japan 1 2021 Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko: Absolute BL: A Man Who Defies The World of BL. - 10 2021 Utsukushii Kare: My Beautiful Man - 9 2021 Kieta Hatsukoi: Vanishing My First Love My Love Mix Up - 8 2021 Given: Givun - 8 2021 Pornographer Playback: Pornographer series - 5 2022 Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko 2 Absolute BL 2 A Man Who Defies The World of BL 2 - 10 2022 Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! Mr Unlucky AKA Mr. Unlucky Can Only Kiss AKA Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! - 8 2022 Old Fashion Cupcake: Old-Fashioned Cupcake - ?  2022 Minato Coin Laundry: Wash My Heart!: Minato's Laundromat: Minato Shouji Koin Randorii - ?

KOREA 

2006 No Regrets - 1 2008 Boy Meets Boy - 4 2008 A Frozen Flower - 1 2009 Just Friends?: Chingu Sai? - 8 2010 Love, 100℃ - 1 2011 Nabang Spark - 4 2012 Suddenly Last Summer - 5 2012 Two Weddings and a Funeral - 5 2012 Going South - 2 2013 Something, Crunchy Crunchy - dnf 2014 So Refreshed! - 2 2014 Diary of Heong Yeong Dang: Drama Festival 2014: The Diary of Heong Yeong Dang - 1 2014 I'm Horny Now! - 1 2014 Night Flight - 1 2014 Some - 1 2015 The Lover BL Cut - 5 2015 Open - 4 2015 Weird Housemates - 4 2015 A Naked Boy - 1 2016 My Eleventh Brother - 4 2016 Jealousy is My Guest - 2 2017 Long Time No See (Strongberry) - 7 2017 Free Bird - 4 2017 Secret Spectacles (Strongberry) - 4 2017 Tilted Summer - 2 2017 Tropical Night - 2 2017 Method - 2 2017 Mind - 2 2017 The Boy Next Door - 1 2018 Some More (Strongberry) - 8 2018 Step For You (Strongberry) - 7 2018 Being Me - 6 2018 My Pistachio (Strongberry) - 6 2018 Summerdaze: Stay Away From Me - 5 2018 Table Manner (Strongberry) - 4 2018 In Between Seasons - 1 2019 As if You Whisper (Strongberry) - 6 2019 Sonnet 18 - 6 2019 My Personal Trainer (Strongberry) - 5 2019 One Last Order - 5 2020 Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart - 9 2020 Where Your Eyes Linger - 8 2020 Mr. Heart: mr heart - 7 2020 Private Lessons (Strongberry) - 7 2020 Secret Roommate (Strongberry) - 5 2021 On His Turf:  On My Turf - dnf 2021 Color Rush - 10 2021 Light On Me - 10 2021 To My Star - 10 2021 A First Love Story (Strongberry) - 9 2021 Nobleman Ryu's Wedding - 9 2021 My Sweet Dear - 8 2021 The Tasty Florida - 8 2021 You Make Me Dance - 8 2021 Made in Rooftop - 7 2021 Peach of Time - 6 2021 Confidential Coffee Break (Strongberry) - 6 2021 Sweet Curse (Strongberry) - 6 2021 Hold Me - 6 2021 Fingers After (Strongberry) - 5 2021 My "S" Partner - 4 2022 Semantic Error - 10 2022 Blueming - 9 2022 Cherry Blossoms After Winter - 9 2022 Tinted With You - 8 2022 Oh! Boarding House - 8 2022 Behind Cut - 8 2022 Love Class - 8 2022 Ocean Likes Me - 8 2022 Color Rush 2 - 7 2022 First Love Again - 7 2022 Blue of Winter Judo Boys - 3 2022 Kissable Lips - 2 2022 Love in Spring: Spring of Crush - ? 2022 To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories - ?

THE PHILIPPINES

2014 Geography Lessons: Lisyun qng Geografia - 3  2016 4 Days - 5  2020 In Between: Sa Pagitan ng Kamusta at Paalam - dnf  2020 The Shore - dnf  2020 Amore - dnf  2020 Boyband Love - ? 4 2020 Happenstance - ?  2020 Gameboys the series - 9  2020 Like In The Movies: Gaya Sa Pelikula - 8  2020 My Day the series - 8  2020 The Boy Foretold by the Stars - 6  2020 Meet Me Outside - 5  2020 Win Jaime's Heart - 5  2021 Jack & Jill - dnf  2021 Love is the series - dnf  2021 Stuck on You - dnf  2022 Rainbow Prince - 6 

SINGAPORE

2022 Getaway: Get Away dnf

TAIWAN 

2006 Eternal Summer: Eternal Summers - 2 2012 Pair of Love - 3 2014 100 Apples - 4 2016 Friend or Lover - 6 2016 He's Out There Somewhere - 1 2017 HIStory: Obsessed - 8 2017 Red Balloon - 7 2017 HIStory: Stay Away From Me - 6 2017 HIStory: My Hero - 6 2017 Faded - 5 2017 We Are Gamily - 5 2017 Dark Blue and Moonlight - 3 2018 HIStory 2: Crossing the Line - 9 2018 HIStory 2: Right or Wrong - 8 2019 The Teacher - dnf 2019 HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count - 2 2019 HIStory 3: Trapped - 7 2019 Departure - 3 2019 Bro and Me Bro & Me - 3 2020 Because of You - 7 2020 Craving You - 5 2020 Our Memory - 3 2020 Your Name Engraved Herein - 2 2021 We Best Love No. 1 For You - 10 2021 We Best Love Fighting Mr. 2nd - 10 2021 Be Loved In House I Do - 9 2021 Love is Science? BL Cut - 9 2021 See You After Quarantine? - 8 2021 HIStory 4: Close to You - 8 2021 Papa & Daddy - 7 2021 My Type - 7 2021 Innocent - 5 2021 Light - 5 2021 Friend or Lover - 5 2021 The Immeasurable - 4 2021 The Immeasurable - 4 2022 Plus & Minus AKA Plus and Minus - 8 2022 DNA Says Love You - 8

THAILAND 

2007 Love of Siam - 2 2013 Timeline - 3 2013 Love Next Door 1 - 2 2014 Love Sick - 7 2014 Love Next Door 2 - 4 2014 My Bromance the movie - 2 2015 Love Sick 2 - 7 2015 Love Love You - 3 2015 Water Boyy the movie - 2 2015 Feel Good to Say Goodbye - 2 2015 Same Same Is Not The Same - 2 2015 Red Wine in the Dark Night - 1 2016 Puppy Honey BL Cut - 8 2016 SOTUS - 8 2016 Make it Right - 7 2016 The Right Man Because I Love You - 5 2016 Sweet Student Boy Sweet Boy - 2 2016 Gray - 2 2016 My Bromance the series - 1 2016 Grey Rainbow: Views of Love - 1 2017 SOTUS S - 8 2017 Puppy Honey2 BL Cut - 8 2017 Make it Right 2 - 7 2017 My Dear Loser Edge of 17 - 6 2017 2 Moons the series - 6 2017 Together with Me - 6 2017 I Am Your King 1 - 3 2017 Waterboyy the series - 3 2017 I Love You - 2 2017 Present Perfect - 2 2018 SOTUS Our Skyy - 8 2018 Kiss Me Again PeteKao - 8 2018 Love By Chance - 8 2018 My Tee: Cause You're My Boy - 6 2018 InnSun Our Skyy My Dear Loser - 5 2018 PeteKao Our Skyy Dark Blue Kiss - 5 2018 PickRome Our Skyy Puppy Honey - 5 2018 You Had Me At Hello - 5 2018 TeeMork Our Skyy My Tee - 5 2018 My Dream - 3 2018 Together with Me the next chapter - 3 2018 What the Duck - 2 2019 Until We Meet Again: The Red Thread - 10 2019 He's Coming to Me - 9 2019 Dark Blue Kiss - 8 2019 Theory of Love - 8 2019 TharnType - 8 2019 2 Moons 2 - 7 2019 3 Will Be Free - 7 2019 Great Men Academy - 6 2019 Good Loser 2 parts - 5 2019 With Love the series - 5 2019 I Am Your King 2 - 3 2019 Before I Love You 3 parts - 3 2019 2 Wish the series - 3 2019 Love Poison - 3 2019 Make it Live on the Beach: Make It Live: On The Beach - 3 2019 Reminders - 3 2019 The Best Twins - 2 2019 The Effect - 2 2019 Dew the Movie - 1 2020 Ghost Runner - dnf 2020 I Told The Sunset About You - dnf 2020 Oxygen the series - 9 2020 Still 2gether - 8 2020 2gether - 8 2020 Why R U? - 8 2020 En of Love Love Mechanics - 7 2020 My Engineer - 7 2020 Ingredients the series - 7 2020 Theory of Love special - 7 2020 Love By Chance 2: A Chance at Love - 6 2020 My Gear and Your Gown - 6 2020 Present Still Perfect - 6 2020 En of Love: This is Love Story - 6 2020 En of Love: Tossera - 6 2020 Location - 5 2020 YYY the series - 5 2020 Friend Forever - 5 2020 So Much In Love - 5 2020 TharnType 2: Seven Years of Love - 5 2020 Night of Love - 4 2020 YYY Special - 3 2020 The Moment - 3 2021 My Boy - dnf 2021 Call it What You Want - dnf 2021 Call it What You Want 2 - dnf 2021 I Promised You the Moon: I Told Sunset About You - dnf 2021 Love Poison 2 - dnf 2021 Hidden Love - dnf 2021 Country Boy - dnf 2021 1000 Stars A Tale of Thousand Stars - 9 2021 Lovely Writer - 9 2021 Golden Blood - 8 2021 Nitiman - 7 2021 Manner of Death - 7 2021 Second Chance - 7 2021 Y-Destiny - 6 2021 Gen Y the series - 6 2021 My Mate Match - 6 2021 The Yearbook - 6 2021 Bite Me - 6 2021 Once in Memory: Wish Me Luck - 6 2021 Once in Memory - 6 2021 Love Advisor - 6 2021 Tonhon Chonlatee - 6 2021 Top Secret Together - 5 2021 Love With Benefits - 5 2021 Siew Sum Noi - 5 2021 Love Area Part 1 - 5 2021 The Best Story YinWar - 5 2021 Don’t Say No LeoFiat Special - 5 2021 Evening Cafe - 5 2021 Brothers - 4 2021 Close Friend Season 1 - 4 2021 Loveless Society - 4 2021 7 Project BL Cut - 4 2021 Fish Upon the Sky - 4 2021 The Cupid Coach - 3 2021 My Bromance 2: 5 Years Later - 3 2021 The Couple - 3 2021 Hometown's Embrace - 3 2021 Love Machine - 1 2022 Saneha Stories 4: Thanon Sai Saneha - dnf 2022 Rak Diao Thai BL sitcom - dnf 2022 Restart(ed): Restarted - dnf 2022 7 Days 7 Boys - dnf 2022 Country Boy - dnf 2022 The Miracle of Teddy Bear - dnf 2022 My Ride Thai 9 2022 Bad Buddy Thai 9 2022 Not Me OffGun Thai 9 2022 Love Stage!! Love Stage - 8 2022 What Zabb Man! Star Hunter - 8 2022 Cutie Pie - 8 2022 Star in My Mind Star and Sky - 8 2022 Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul - 7 2022 Enchanté Enchante - 7 2022 Secret Crush On You - 7 2022 La Cuisine - 7 2022 Paint With Love - 6 2022 Close Friend 2 Season 2 - 6 2022 You're My Sky: Star and Sky - 6 2022 Cupid's Last Wish - 6 2022 Gen Y 2: Season 2 - 5 2022 The Love of Winter - 5 2022 Meow Ears Up - 4 2022 Our Days - 4 2022 Physical Therapy - 3 2022 The Tuxedo - 3 2022 Love Area Part 2 - 3 2022 That's My Candy KimCop - 3 2022 Something In My Room - 3 2022 Triage the series - ? 2022 KinnPorsche - ? 2022 Check Out - ? 2022 Sky in Your Heart: Star and Sky - ? 2022 My Secret Love: Secret Admirer - ? 2022 Love Mechanics YinWar Thai ?

VIETNAM 

2017 My Sky BẦU TRỜI CỦA KHÁNH - 2 2018 The Ring Goes Missing - 5 2019 Hey! First Love AKA My Sky Dam My hoc Doung - 5 2019 Goodbye Mother Thua Me Con D - 3 2020 Stage of Love - 6 2020 Sea Him TienTai universe - 5 2020 Tien Bromance EXTRA - 5 2020 Tien Bromance - 1 2021 My Lascivious Boss ÔNG CHỦ, ĐỪNG ĐẾN ĐÂY - 7 2021 You Are Ma Boy EM LÀ CHÀNG TRAI CỦA ANH - 7 2021 Nation's Brother - 7 2021 Hay Rival, I LOVE YOU! - 6 2021 Follow My Sunshine SAU VẠT NẮNG - 6 2021 Stupid Boys Stupid Love YÊU ĐI SỢ GÌ - 6 2021 Monster in Law Mẹ Chồn Dâu Cáo - 6 2021 Most Peaceful Place Is You - 6 2021 You Are My Sunshine - 4 2021 Fools - 4 2022 Next Door Crush - dnf 2022 Mr Cinderella Xem trọn bộ Mr Cinderella - 8 2022 The Promise - 5 2022 You Are My Stupid Boy - 5 2022 Want to See You - ?

(this was by request from @roices )

source 

[doorajar]

In the second half of 2021 I watched, in this order:

Handsome Devil

Young Royals

The Shore

Your Name Engraved Herein

Kiss Me Again

2Gether

Dark Blue Kiss

My Gear and Your Gown

Just Friends

Like in the Movies

Gameboys

Meet Me Outside

Monster Pies

Four Moons

Esteros

HIStory 2

HIStory 1

Who Am I?

HIStory 3 Trapped

HIStory 3 Make Our Days Count

Beloved Enemy

My Dream

Nitiman

Would You Be My Love?

Together With Me

A Fish Upon the Sky

Present Perfect

Present Still Perfect

Theory of Love

Our Skyy

The Best Story

Love Mechanics, En of Love

‘Cause You’re My Boy

Still 2Gether

He’s Coming to Me

Wish You

Football Guys

My Best Boyfriend

My Lascivious Boss

Follow My Sunshine

Gay Boylove

Golden Blood

Brother and Me

Addicted Lover

Boyfriend

You Had Me at Hello

Close Friend (1 - 5)

Love While You Can

Pa-Mine Pare

I’ll Be There (For You)

Love Love You

Last Summer

The Curiosity of Chance

Capture Lover

My Friendship

3 Will Be Free

I am Happiness on Earth

Dreams From Strangers

Please Tel Me So

Lovely Writer (1 -5, 10, 12)

Boys’ Lockdown

Out In the Open

Love by Chance

Love by Chance 2

SOTUS the Series

2 Moons

2 Moons 2

Club Friday #5

Love of Siam

Once in Memory:

Love at First Sight

Just Found Love

Until We Meet Again

A First Love Story

Hold Me

7 Project / Once Upon a Time

Where Your Eyes Linger

BxxM

Sky + Ace Story

Gao ShiDe + Zhou Shuyi

Boy, Friend

Y Destiny

Moi Quan He Open

2Wish

Hong Soek + Shi On Story

Mork + Pi Story

Jump the Boy!

Irresistible Love

LGBTQ+ Dramas Gay Clip (YT)

I Fell in Love With My Friend

Better Days

Broken Youth

Eternal Summer

Goodbye Mother

Win Jaime’s Heart

Gray

What is His Secret

Louder Than Words

Motti Bianche

We All Soft-hearted

A Secret Between Two Gays

Happenstance

Jump the Boy / Summertime /

From Now On

The Couple

Pok + Tong Story

Zhao Gang + Su Qi Story

Shinwoo + Taekyung

Birthday Tume

Just Ask Him

Out

My Broken Love Story

Leon + Pob

Phu + Kao Story

Phipha + Tian Story

Requited

Tharn & Type / Their Story

Dean and Pharm

Straight A

The Right Man Because

Book and Frame

Min and Jay

Craving You

Friend or Lover

The Most Beautiful Place is My

Place

Nation’s Brother

You Are Ma Boy

My Strange Friend

Teens Like Phil

Home From the Gym

Irresistible Love

De Vuelta

Teens Realize …

Hidden Away

I Love You When I’m Crazy

Breath

Alone

The Christmas Night

Photograph / My Bromance

Make it Right

Jin Yu Zhen + Shi Lei

Love is Science

Queer Beauty

Don’t Say No

Love With Flaws

The Lover

Once in Memory: Wish Me Luck

So Much in Love

2022:

My Day

The Awakening

Dos Chicos

Rendezvous Avec Diego

High Tide

Robbe + Sander

To You, for Me

Past Youth

Bad Buddy

Addicted

Oxygen the Series

Seo Joon x Ji Woo - I Really Like You

Phu x Kao Story

Miss Truth

He’s Mine

I Told Sunset About You

Last Twilight in Phuket

I Promised You the Moon

Utsukushii Kare

Cherry Magic

Takumi-kun The Rainbow-Colored Glass

SO: IVE REWATCHED FEWER THAN A HALF DOZEN OF THESE TITLES. If you were going to pick five of the series on this list to watch again, which would they be ?

[absolutebl]

what ARE your fav trash watches? I haven’t watched a lot of series yet so DSN is prob one of my only trash watches that I enjoyed enough to rewatch so far…(there’s maybe a few contenders but they either just finished or are close to finishing lol)

Oh you're trying to out me, aren't you? I’m brave, I own my trashy inclinations. 

My Favorite Trash Watches!

Imma pick the ones that I actually rewatch even though the show is trash, as opposed to the times I trash watched a show and mostly just enjoyed eviscerating it. (Those are all listed here.)

ALL THE TRIGGERS! 

HIStory 4: Close to You (the side couple) - 2021 Taiwan

Issues: stepbrothers, obsession, stalking, psychopathic tendencies, dubious consent  

Oh yeah, I am beyond aware of how terrible this story arc is: consent issues, stalking, everything is terrible. I just LOVE the chemistry so much and frankly I don’t care to examine the part of my brain that likes this couple. BECAUSE I AM TRASH. 

Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet & Irresistible Love 2 - China 2016

(sometimes also called Uncontrolled Love or Force Majeure) 

Issues: whipping boy, obsession, CEO, office/home, codependent, obsessive/tsundere, kidnapping

Exists in 2 parts/movies, 2nd movie has two alternate endings: a kinda happy and a definitely NOT happy, usually found grey on YT. I not-so-secretly love this BL: Kidnapping, whipping boy, obsession, mutilation, very hard fought happy ending (in one version). Absolutely classic Chinese BL pre-censorship. It's a wild melodramatic ride. 

TharnType - Thailand 2019 

Issues: dub con, conflation of gay with pedophile, domestic violence, rough play   

To be fair I haven’t rewatched in YEARS, partly because we have just gotten more higher heat just as good (Why R U? Cutie Pie... Taiwan). There was a while there back when it was up on YouTube that this show was, basically, it. 

HIStory Obsessed - Taiwan 2017 

Issues: stalking, obsession, rough play, identity loss 

The softest version of the world’s most problematic yaoi tropes, while still managing to be those tropes.

Make It Right - Thailand 2016-2017 

Issues: dub con, messy bi, cheating, push/pull, terrible chemistry 

What to say about this show, the origin of the Thai BL pulps? It’s objectively problematic, and not just the leads but the side couple too, and yet I love it. I tend to call myself the “worlds foremost Make It Right apologist.” I recognize the issues but I find it utterly charming, especially Tee’s utter devotion to Fuse the disaster. 

Others I Hold Trashily Dear? 

2009 Takumi-kun 2: Rainbow Colored Glass - Japan

2021 Nitiman - Thai

2021 Second Chance - Thai

2021 You Are Ma Boy AKA EM LÀ CHÀNG TRAI CỦA ANH - Vietnam

(source) 

[absolutebl]

If You Like This Newer BL Try...

It’s BL roots week! 

What you didn’t know? 

Yeah well that’s because I just declared it. 

So I’ve no idea when you got into BL, but most of us matriculated via the Thai renaissance within the last 5 years. So there is some early stuff out there you may not have seen... so how about some comps? 

If you liked: 

2gether (2020) 

then your should try 

Seven Days (Japan 2015) 

Seven Days comes in two parts: 

Seven Days: Monday - Thursday 

Seven Days: Friday - Sunday 

You can watch it eng subbed on YouTube. 

It’s one of the best Japanese BLs ever made and that’s because it has a lot (for Japan) of the more modern breezy style of something like 2gether. The leads have a similar comfort level with each other (with the same heat level - low) which yields up a similar on screen chemistry. 

Popular first year Seiryo has a policy of going out with any girl who asks... for one week. On a lark, third year Yuzuru tests to see if that policy also applies to boys. Seiryo agrees that it does. 

Yuzuru is very pretty and popular but so brash and honest that girls always end up dumping him. As the two boys date it becomes clear that Seiryo really enjoys this blunt side of Yuzuru, and Yuzuru starts to fall in love with Seiryo because of the joy of being liked for who he really is. Seiryo thinks it’s all just a game to Yuzuru, but he’s falling hard too. They both want it to last more than one week. 

Seiryo is young and reserved but yearns so much to be loved and give love, while Yuzuru is the best possible version of an obtuse tsundere without being immature or a brat. Their miscommunication comes to the story honestly and is sourced in their characters. The actors put these personalities into their physicality too, with Seiryo moving in a cautiously stilted manner while Yuzuru is relaxed and sprawling. It’s fucking adorable. I promise you will love it. 

This is an absolutely faithful adaptation (staging, story and dialogue) of the yaoi manga of the same name, but I actually think this film is even better. 

If you liked: 

TharnType & TharnType 2 (2019-2020)

then you should try 

Takumi-kun (2009-2012) 

Like TharnType (and for many of the same reasons) Takumi-kun is one of the most (in)famous adaptations (in Japanese BL). It also has similar themes and issues. But honestly, if you like Mame’s style then you owe it to yourself, and your fetishes, to figure out why and what’s going on (in your own psyche and in the history of BL and yaoi). I can’t help you with your personal kinks (or issues), but the Takumi-kun series will showcase a LOT about origin Japanese yaoi and why it’s troubling, why it’s addictive, and what a core foundation it gave to the modern industry out of Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea particularly. 

Beautiful fragile traumatized Takumi escapes the horrors of his youth by attending boarding school. There things aren’t great because his coping mechanism is touch-aversion, timidity, and fear. Alone and bullied, Takumi is barely surviving until handsome, rich, popular Gii becomes obsessed with him. Oh and they’re roommates. 

Takumi-kun (like 2 Moons/2 Moons 2) shot the first movie and then recast for the remaining adaptations. They did not, however, re-film book 1 except in flashbacks so I actually recommend you watch the fan made first movie version (from those flashbacks), and then 3 of the 4 follow ups. So here’s a watching order: 

Takumi-kun Series 1 DaiMao Version (Fan Made recut via flashbacks) 

Takumi-kun Series 2: Rainbow Colored Glass  

Takumi-kun Series 3: The Beauty of Detail 

Takumi-kun Series 5: That Sunny Blue Sky 

Series 4 is about side characters and doesn’t add to the main story, but it’s fine if you like those side characters. 

2007′s original Series 1 with the different cast is okay (I guess?) and a more honest adaptation of the original yaoi (which is NOT good), but not worth watching first. From a heritage BL film perspective this first movie (but also bits of the others) showcases how yaoi framing, filming angles, body positioning (staging), and cinematography for BL uses the origin manga as a storyboard. This filming style would go on to influence Korean BL in particular (see Color Rush) and is still used in Japanese BL today (see Love Stage!!). 

Expect the dark side of BL in terms of trigger warnings - but if you liked Tharntype then you’re already okay with that. Also like TT this series is a higher heat level, which we usually only see in the obsession=murder-gays from Japan. Takumi-kun ends happily (each movie) so don’t worry about that. 

If you liked:

Manner of Death (2021)

the you should try

Long Time No See (2017)

One of Korea’s early forays into gay suspense romance, this one is about two hit men (mafia assassins) who meet and fall in love. Neither of them knows they have to kill each other, or do they? This is also a grumpy/sunshine pairing. 

Like Manner of Death there are themes of brother loyalty and betrayal as well as mafia drama. It also has a higher heat level and is squarely in the adult sphere. This one has some great fight scenes, too. 

If you like: 

The HIStory franchise (ongoing) 

Particularly with how it deals with pining and obsessive love than you kinda owe it to yourself to watch...

Addicted (2016) 

Addicted deals with A LOT of the more problematic tropes that China loved until 2016 and Taiwan (and occasionally Japan) still use which are mostly sourced in yaoi manga. Tropes like pranking, kidnapping, stalking, stepbrothers, forced cohabitation, and dubious consent. These are notions of affection colored by the obsessive need to possess - destructive all consuming uncontrollable covetous love. 

Addicted does it all and pushes each trope just far enough. Also it was China’s first “censor that fucker now” controversy in the BL sphere, so it’s worth learning what all the fuss was about. 

You want the Viki version with the uncut extended final sex scene... trust me. And you might wanna stop watching right after that sex scene ends. 

Some Quick Picks 

If you like A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021), face it you’re basically looking for “find yourself transformative gay romance” featuring pretty boys. Try American indie gay romance films Latter Days (2003) and Shelter (2007). They are both brilliant, super romantic, HEA, and similar in spirit to 1000 Stars. Although I should warn you there will be no sponge baths or forehead kisses but there will be great sex scenes. Both are made by queer directors from queer production houses. 

Finally, if you liked Your Name Engraved Herein then you HAVE to watch Red Balloon. No seriously. They are weirdly similar.

Please feel free to ask for a suggestion based on a trope or current BL you love, or recommend others. 

Personally, I’m always looking for pre 2010 stuff that has the spirit of modern Thai BL (read: upbeat and with a happy ending). 

(source)

[absolutebl]

Hello!

Do you have any recs for shows/movies with high heat? I've already seen tharntype and why r u. Anything else? I'll gladly take any tips I get!

I'm here for ya!

HIGH HEAT BL

Okay so almost nothing gets quite as exposing/long running as FighterTutor in Why R U? except maybe some of the ones out of Japan, and they usually end dark. These tends to be less sexy and more there for the shock value. The next level will be the stuff from Taiwan and it comes with stories that use problematic tropes and trigger warnings but the heat is really quite good.

I am not going to rank any of these in order here, but I include my rating because it will tell you how I felt about the story. Also the lower the rating the more likely it ends unhappy.

I rate heat out of 0-3, and it's kinda subjective. Sometimes a high school set BL like Takumi-kun gets a 3 because it's so unusual to get sexytimes depicted for that type of BL. While a non-BL dark Japanese drama, like the Pornographer series, also gets a 3 and it is VERY explicit (but I expect that from Japan and this kind of drama).

All this to say, I divided it by country because high heat in BL is also a matter of the production house's location to a certain extent.

I put an (explicit) rating on anything that has a higher heat level than Why R U?

Are we ready for this? All my 3/3 heat rated BLs... 

High Heat from China

Addicted Heroin - 8/10 the uncut version on Viki

A Round Trip to Love - 1/10

Like Love 1&2: I Love You As A Man & Nobody Knows But Me 2-5/10

From Here to There - 2/10

High Heat from Japan

Pornographer series AKA The Novelist & Mood Indigo & Playback (explicit) - 3/10

Takumi-kun 2, 3, 5 Rainbow Colored Glass, & The Beauty of Detail & That Sunny Blue Sky - 5/10

Sei no Gekiyaku - 1/10

The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese (explicit) - 2/10

Shape of Happiness 1 & 2 AKA Love Place: Hakanaki Kata Omoi AKA Gaiya no Koi & Love Place: Shiawase no Katachi - 3/10

The End Of The World, With You AKA Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu (explicit) - 6/10

Also at lot of the dark BL and pinks discussed in this post. 

High Heat from Korea

Long Time No See - 7/10

A Frozen Flower - 1/10

Sweet Curse (explicit) - 6/10

High Heat from the Philippines

My Day the series - 8/10

I'm sure there are more but this is the only one I have noted down.

High Heat from Taiwan

HIStory 4 Close to You - 8/10

Be Love In House: I Do - 9/10

Plus and Minus - 8/10

HIStory 3: Trapped - 7/10

HIStory Obsessed - 8/10

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count (explicit) - 2/10

Innocent - 5/10 

Light - 5/10 

The Immeasurable - 4/10 

High Heat from Thailand

TharnType 1 & 2 - 5-8/10

Why R U? - 8/10

Love By Chance - 8/10

Love Stage!! - 8/10

Manner of Death - 7/10

Make it Right 2 - 7/10

Love By Chance 2: A Chance at Love - 6/10

Together with Me the series 1 & 2 - 3-6/10

What the Duck (explicit) - 2/10

TharnType 2: Seven Years of Love - 5/10

Don’t Say No - 5/10

Love Next Door 1 & 2 (explicit) - 2-4/10

Loveless Society - 4/10 

The Tuxedo - 3/10

Cutie Pie - 8/10

KinnPorsche (explicit) - 7/10 (don't @ me I am not changing my mind)

The Tuxedo - 3/10

Check Out - 4/10

Love Mechanics - 6/10

Big Dragon (explicit) - 7/10

Love in the Air (explicit) - 7/10

Oh! My Sunshine Night - 7/20 (recommended for the sides, they v hot)

Secret Crush On You - 7/10 (it's awkward af but the THIRST is amazing)

Love Stage!! - 8/10

Chains of Heart - 3/10

Hit Bite Love - 3/10

Bed Friend - (explicit) 8/10

War of Y - DNF

Fahlanruk - DNF

I haven’t rated anything from Vietnam as high heat, 3/3. 

Note: If you want this list copy and paste it out because who knows how long it will be allowed to stay live here. Also post is up to date July 2023. 

(source)