#darker bl

Spicy Realistic BLs with No Camp Aspects

similar to: Pornographer, The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese, My Beautiful Man

Here's a short list of more recent stuff, since lots of my posts on this are somewhat (I put a star* next to the ones I think you'll especially like)

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans

My Stand-In*

Jack and Joker

Deep Night

Every You Every Me

Unknown*

Love Sea

City of Stars (pulp warning)

At 25:00, in Alaska AKA 25 Ji, Akasaka de

To Be Continued

Step By Step

The Eighth Sense*

Jun and Jun

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho*

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto*

Bed Friend*

Never Let Me Go

Moonlight Chicken*

Between Us

Tokyo in April is AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa*

FYI I had to eliminate quite a few (like Pit Babe, Two Worlds, and The Sign, I Feel You Linger in the Air) because of your "realistic" restriction. That said I think you would REALLY enjoy IFYLITA.

More obscure and historic BLs

Older post: Everything not Thai qualifies, and some of the higher rated Thai stuff on this list:

Everything mentioned on this list also applies:

These BLs are all quite realistic, but may not always have high heat:

FYI

Hope that's helpful. There should be some stuff you haven't seen before.

BL That is VERY realistic with ANGST

The "very realistic" is the hard part. All BLs take artistic license in pursuit of some kind of cohesive story. And, you probably mostly want Japan and Taiwan.

Let's see what I can do?

Realistic High Angst From Taiwan

Your Name Engraved Herein (netflix?) - this is the winner, it's an amazing historical piece, painful but beautiful

Also its oft forgotten "sister" piece, Red Balloon , not sure where to find it but very few have seen it, it's worth looking for if this is your thing.

About Youth, Gaga

My Tooth Your Love, Viki - the premise seems odd but it's very endearing and quite complex

Some shorts to consider :

Faded,

Innocent,

Light,

The Immeasurable

Realistic High Angst from Japan

His (movie is my preference but the series might also fit the bill)

Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese

Junjou Pure Heart

Candy Color Paradox

Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai (I Only Want to Keep Looking at You)

Life: Love on the Line, Viki (go for the director's cut)

Restart After Come Back Home, Gaga? Viki? (not sure who has this one anymore)

Jack O Frost

Tokyo in April Is... Gaga

Realistic High Angst From Thailand (yes really)

Love of Siam

Love Sick

Dew the Movie (it's your funeral)

Maybe My only 12%?

I Told Sunset About You and the follow up

Present Perfect and Present Still Perfect (this is an intersting one as far as I know it's the first out gay director prestige piece from Thailand.)

Once in Memory (short)

Moonlight Chicken (review here)

Only Friends, YT (not quite BL, very queer messy gays, Thailand's answer to Queer as Folk)

I Am Your King 1 (but it's a pulp)

And weirdly you could throw some aspects of Love By Chance in there.

I still will never recommend Grey Rainbow. Sorry.

You might try tracking down the Saneha stories too.

And a bit from Korea

Although this will always feel a bit staged and arranged. Korea doesn't do much gritty realism, they prefer their pain performative.

To My Star and (more importantly) To My Star 2

Blueming, Viki

The Eighth Sense, Viki

The New Employee, Viki

Unintentional Love Story, iQIYI

And 2 Others

Like In The Movies, Pinoy YT

Goodbye Mother, Vietnam netflix maybe?

Unlike most of my posts none of these recs promise an HEA. You have been warned.

I pretty much fleeced from my prestige BL list (just add angst):

You could always take a risk and try some of these too...

K' that's more an enough to me going on with and I am SURE there are some you haven't seen. I'm equally sure I have missed some since there are ones that often life at the bottoms of my personal list and I have only ever watched one.