was asking the group chat about their top 6 essential bl cause it's been going around. results varied greatly (mine are here too, if you care)
des: WRU, LBC, TT, KP, ITSAY, ATOTS
first of all, the fact that i can recognize all of these from abbreviations is telling: why r u?, love by chance, tharntype, kinnporsche, i told sunset about you, a tale of a thousand stars. they all feel classic and foundational to me, despite some varying quality, and that's probably bc we got into bl around the same time. my personal ranking would be itsay, atots, tt, kp, wru, lbc. tho kinnporsche i haven't seen in it's entirety (this is the only bl i didn't drop after a certain number of episodes, but rather skipped scenes, focusing on vegaspete and major plot occurrences). why r u? is such a product of covid it's hard to gauge apart from that, but still solid. in my head, tharntype is classic mame (positive) and love by chance is classic mame (negative) but they both have redeeming and uh unredeeming qualities
blue: to my star, i feel you linger in the air, ossan's love, eternal yesterday, I hear the sunspot, and kiseki
much less to say here because, of these, i've only seen kiseki: dear to me, and that at their recommendation (loved it, but blue is about the only person i know who's most invested in the main ship). these are also mostly from the years i wasn't watching much bl (late '22 - '24) and, well, i tend to think japanese bl aren't my vibe, but i was proven wrong recently with my personal weatherman, so i should probably give more of these a try. to my star has been on my list to get to for ages (which to my shore has, rather confusingly, more recently joined)
my list: i told sunset about you, we best love, tharntype, revenged love, khemjira
rating shows and books is a stressful experience for me, and i always feel like i got it wrong, so instead of going off my top favorite bl, i went mostly for those i would/have absolutely recommended to people outside of the bl sphere. for example, itsay has been recced to two of my siblings, multiple times (the episodes are too long he says), and i loved we best love so much, i separately forced my sister and my roommate to watch a few episodes with me. let's go through them one by one i guess
i told sunset about you: what is there to say about itsay? no really, it's just a masterpiece. cinematically, musically (there's a better word for that), in chemistry, tension, and story. a show i would and could recommend to anyone
we best love: it may not be apparent here, but taiwanese bl are so often my favorites, and we best love is perhaps the best of them. it's a simple story, really, and shorter than i usually prefer, but i was so in it. helps that YU is one of the most beautiful people in existence and shuyi fits all my hopes for a bratty lead. it's angsty, cute, and with, i would argue, one of the most solid second seasons we've seen. i'm still praying sam will come back to star in another bl (unknown gave me hope)
tharntype: tharntype was, along with color rush, my introduction to bl, and i wouldn't have it any other way. these two... i never even know how to describe or explain tharn and type, they both have such awful characteristics, and half the time i forget just how much crazy shit went down in this show but it's just, such definitive bl you know? (i'm sure you don't, if you haven't seen it, bc i'm being completely unintelligible). the second season was in many ways a dumpster fire, but it did give me leofiat, so can i really complain?
revenged love: a newer entry, but i really can't imagine coming to an understanding of where we're currently at with bl without at least seeing some of revenged love. another rare case where i was yapping about it so much my roommate started it, and was also near-immediately invested. perhaps even more rare in that i've already rewatched a number of episodes, and probably will do so again. it's so entertaining and humorous, sexy and even emotional, without being too drawn out (obviously some parts were rushed or arranged poorly in post-production, but there are a number of subplots/arcs, separate from the romance, which span multiple episodes in a way that kept me hooked). and of course, toxic snake poly!!
khemjira: i had a lot of trouble settling on these last two spots. it comes down to the fact that khemjira is, to me, the perfect execution of a modern bl. i truly watched this without finding a single complaint, pulling up a two hour episode and not looking away until it was through. the acting is phenomenal, the story purposeful, filming beautiful. normally i need some hint of toxicity or banter to pull me into a romance, but that wasn't necessary here. we have fully realized characters (including women!!) and convincing stakes. i also think it does represent a growing trend, within and beyond bl, of horror romance, which is a blessing to me
i truly couldn't figure out what to put in this last slot. until we meet again? (foundational to me, but not necessarily something i would suggest everyone go back and watch.) semantic error? (my favorite kbl, but not one i could honestly consider an all time fav.) a/b/o desire? (the omegaverse bl and the hua yong, but as a show it has a lot of faults.) weak hero class? (not a bl, but i wish.) a tale of a thousand stars, unknown, like in the movies, history 3: trapped – so many options but nothing i could decide on in the end, so i guess that means my sixth essential bl is one i still have yet to see
