#horror bl

Here's my personal feelings and stats for 2025, and here are my top shows of the year. Now, shall we get into some more objective trends (so to speak)?

BIG SWEEPING TRENDS

China? Really? CHINA?

Chinese BL is back and it brought with it some seriously toxic reinforcements. They just picked up where they left off in 2017 with all those same tropes and rough edges. We were unprepared but game, and they served.

Apparently BL's last decade of sporadic but consistent evolution towards consent, safe sex, actual queerness, and other trappings of modernity did not phase China.

Well, to be fair, look at Cdrama het romances, it's exactly the same bullshizzle there.

We are scared and scarred. 

Please sirs, may we have some more?

What Happened to Korean BL?

It felt like there was a decrease in production of KBLs (especially at the start of the year) but that turned out to be a decrease in QUALITY KBLS. We got quantity.

We had 30 KBLs release in 2025, 14 of those had a total run time of over an hour. (I qualify anything under an hour of fresh content - trailer and teasers not included - as a short.) That's actually the same or more KBLs than in previous years.

But we also saw a spike in KBLs on YouTube as shorts and/or other platforms as verticals. This actually increased Korea's over all output but decreased quality.

We also witnessed the reuse of several actors in those shorts, occasionally with multiple BLs (of the same type) airing at the same time featuring the same actor! It was a bit difficult to keep track of, frankly.

A lot of these were closed locations (apartments, cafes/bars without customers) and very small casts. Basically we are seeing Korean pulps increase and prestige KBLs decrease.

I am not sure if this shift (back) towards shorts will continue or simply even out. (For those who don't know, Korean queer content started with shorts back in the early 2000s.)

Increased production quality over all BL.

On the whole, we are seeing higher levels of production than previously in the BL world (as certain film technology becomes cheeper, and background staff and talent becomes more experienced).

There are fewer outright mistakes in makeup and wardrobe (although some intentional choices remain questionable). Boom mics have fewer guest appearances, and even the sound quality in Thai BL seems a little improved.

A little.

Along side we are getting historical settings (expensive in location and wardrobe but good for soft power and culture propaganda), crime fiction adjacent concepts (like The Heart Killers, expensive in training and manpower) and BLs with strong horror and paranormal elements (expensive in makeup and special effects, like Khemjira). In Thailand production has gotten more confident over all.

One wonders, with the success of shows like Revenged Love and The On1y One if Japan will actually begin to dip into the well a little bit more, and if we will see increases in border-crossing IP adaptations.

That said, Korea's mass production in pulps, and Thailand's entrance in the vertical market has had a dampening effect on overall quality in terms of story and turnaround times.

Increased content variation (sub genre expansion)

This is a pre-existing trend that continues to expand, but is also a marker of a maturing genre.

We have firmly left high school and are graduating from university.

For Thailand this has to do with their aging pool of bankable co-branded pairs aging out.

Korea is simply finding it cheeper to do home and workplace pulps.

Taiwan and Japan always had a wider interpretation of the genre.

Sure we had a few school BLs, but these used to dominate the field and are now in the minority.

This trend is likely to continue.

BL has grown up.

Because they are now heavily set in the adult sphere, BL production houses are becoming more far reaching and considered in concept. In addition to historical, horror, and paranormal we are likely to see more and more slipped and skewed reality (Boy Next World, Caged Again, Love Begins in the World of If) as well as isekai, parallel universes, magical realism, and omegaverse. This is because these are mature high concept but cheap in setting (office, house, dorms).

Rise of Celebrity BL

Celebrity BL was quite popular this year including sports stars, actors, singers, and idols as one or both of the leads.

We got: ThamePo, The Sparkle in Your Eye, My Bias is Showing, 10Dance, Love Sea, Top Form, Reset, The Ex-Morning, Ball Boy Tactics, FC Soldout, Punks Triangle not to mention I Became the Lead in a BL 2 and At 25:00 in Akasaka 2.

I'm not sure if this is a trend that will continue to rise, but I don't see it decreasing.

Speaking of celebrity...

Sports BL Goes for Gold

Sports BL started it's rise last year but seemed to really reach its stride in 2025. Knock Out, The Bangkok Boy (kinda), Summer Indigo (vertical), Ball Boy Tactics, FC Soldout, Pit Babe 2, and more all featured sports settings (if not any actual game play).

I'd like it if we got more sports team friendships (band of brothers style) and rivalries. That's what I enjoy about sports BL, but so far the focus has been on the individuals. I assume that is because of casting expenses.

I think this trend will hold steady, but not increase much. It's popular to set in but it's not particularly popular with BL viewers (yes, despite the success of Heated Rivalry).

Rise (and Fall) of Thai Historicals

After (some of us) begged for years, 2025 saw 3 major Thai historicals drop, none of which performed to expectations (I'm The Most Beautiful Count, Memoir of Rati, and Love in the Moonlight). Oh some of them were good, but none of them made waves.

I think this places the sword of Damocles over the proverbial heads of any other Thai historical BLs currently in production (Love Upon a Time and Love Destiny spring to mind).

Please Sir May I Have a Horror?

We got a lot of ghost stories this year.

We have always had ghostly BLs. I mean China used "my ghost boyfriend" as a regularly appearing trope back in the pre 2016 days. But there were more than usual in 2025: Mission to the Moon, My Secret of Seer, Secret Ghost, and Khemjira.

We also got a lot of vampires, goblins, and other paranormal creatures. BL went with a Halloween theme for 2025.

I mean, so did the rest of the world. Pretty horrific out there.

LESSER TRENDS

Masterbation can be fun!

So masterbation is a pretty rare thing to get in BL yet it came out to play a lot this year:

Revenged Love, 

The Heart Killers,

My Stubborn,

I Promise I Will Come Back,

GelBoys,

When it Rains it Pours,

Secrets Happened on Lichi Island,

Love Sea,

Reloved,

Golden Blood,

Revenged Love,

Sangmin Dinneaw.

Yes we've had masterbation pop up before (pun intended, always) for example IFYLITA, Don’t Say No, Big Dragon, Love is Better the Second Time Around, Playboyy. But 12 in 2025 alone is exceptionally high.

I think I could probably count on one hand the times I've seen it in BL before 2023. So this increase is a trend.

Now could we get some increased rep for h-jobs, b-jobs, and a-play prior to (or instead of) penetration?

And yes, I'm aware of Khemjira's bid for exceptionalism in this arena. Good for them.

Girl Snap

Queens, femmes, and gay bitch behavior. There still aren't a ton of these goddesses, especially not in leading roles, but at least we are finally getting SOME.

The Most Beautiful Count lead the charge but there was also Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island (China, recommended), Situationship in the City (VBL, not recommended), MuteLuv: Diva Deva Mata, Knockout, Suntiny and few other Thai pulps. It was great to see some femme gays on my screen. More please.

So much kidnapping

Both the standard old "kidnapping for love" trope, but also just regular kidnapping to move the plot along. There was just a lot of kidnapping this year.

Oh, I forgot

Drop that amnesia trope BL. Back away slowly. No one will get hurt.

Tiny Trope watch!

Get out your specs.

Boys on Leashes

Next Prince, Reset, Desire, Knock Out, DogBro, and side references in a few others all had boys collared and lead around, some got to be blind folded. Fun fun.

Even Korea decided to dabble in kink this year. Who tf knew that was gonna happen? And I do mean dabble. One wishes they'd had the ballgags to dive in for a full swim, but they just waded in the kiddie pool.

Guys + gardens = boyfriends

Memoir of Rati, My Magic Prophecy, Revamp, and The Proper Way to Write Love all featured our boys mucking about with flowers as a metaphor for cultivating love.

Ukes interested in sex

Blame Taiwan.

Manipulation as a love language

Blame China.

Everyone is smoking

What is this, the 90s?

Fights multiply but not in a good way

Blame the move away from school settings.

Thailand is especially poor at fight sequences. We got okay fights in Bangkok Boy and Knock Out (they cast boxers, so yay!), not to much else (side-eyes Next Prince, Revamp, and The Heart Killers) but we can't have everything.

2026 & Beyond... PREDICTIONS

1 We friends now?

I think we will get lots more combo country productions. China, Thailand, and (likely) Taiwan will co-produce when possible. Japan might even get in on the mix occasionally.

We are going to see countries sharing locations, and in some cases, talent. I hope we get some bilingual actors in the mix.

We may also see more adaptations of cross-cultural IP.

2 Historicals Won't Last

Expect a pull back on historicals. They under-performed across the board (read: none did as a well as IFYLITA) and they are so expensive.

Much as I personally enjoy them, and wish they would continue to infect BLs in other countries (side eyes Japan), I just don't think production houses are going to find historical BL practical from a profit margin perspective.

With no major historical hits in 2025, I expect this sub-genre to contract significantly over the next 2 years.

3 More Horror

The success of Khemjira in Thailand will spark more horror Thai BLs.

That's not why this show was so successful but production houses see what they wanna see. And Thailand loves a ghost story.

We may even see trickle over into other countries.

4 Japan holds steady

I think about 20 BLs out of Japan per year is the new normal. They also seem to consistently load the back end of every year with their best stuff.

Since they have the biggest back catalogue of yaoi content, I don't see them slowing down anytime soon. I would like them to dip into the well a lot more, but adaptations are challenging because IP law is very stringent there. It's likely we aren't getting some of their more famous 90s yaoi (Target the Finder, Brothers, Kizuna, Sky Over My Spectacles, Desire) because the rights are impossible to obtain or tied up in litigation.

5 Korean BL Continues to Decline in Quality

My suspicion is that KBLs simply are not performing to expectations in-country. We will not be seeing longer form, high prestige, or adaptations of Japanese IP in the KBL sphere. (Insert sad face. RIP my 16 ep gay remake of Descendants of the Sun.)

I'm calling 2023 as peak Korean BL.

It's been downhill since then, even tho we are getting more shows they aren't better shows. I don't want to say it, but someone has to.

KBL has officially had its heyday.

Oh please prove me wrong in 2026, Korea. This is one trend where I really wanna eat my words.

I’ve been thinking about "The summer Hikaru died"....

and how the whole story kind of shifts depending on perspective.

So, the thing is..

At the beginning

Hikaru dies in a really symbolic way. He’s looking at this tree shaped like a woman’s body, and then he slips.

And I can’t stop reading that as something deeper, like the moment he “lets go” of his straightness.

Almost like his heterosexual identity literally dies with him in that moment.

After that...

The new Hikaru appears

And from Yoshiki’s perspective, everything changes.

Yoshiki immediately sees this new Hikaru as something monstrous.

Not just different, but wrong, disturbing, almost inhuman.

And that framing is really important, because we’re stuck inside Yoshiki’s head the whole time. So we don’t see Hikaru “as he is,” we see him as Yoshiki feels him.

And that’s where the internalized homophobia becomes so clear.

The new Hikaru is actually not rejecting himself.

He seems aware of his feelings, even comfortable in them in a quiet way. But Yoshiki interprets everything through discomfort and fear.

So every interaction becomes distorted.

There are those moments, like the “so gross, so gross, so good, so good” scene-- where Hikaru’s touch or presence is framed as something almost bodily and overwhelming.

And Yoshiki reacts like a kid who doesn’t know what to do with emotions he doesn’t understand yet.

The monster imagery really builds this up too.

Hikaru is shown in this weird, distorted way, long, unsettling shapes, almost bodily horror-like features. Even things like raw chicken are used to create that sense of disgust.

It’s not random, it reflects Yoshiki’s internal reaction. It’s literally his perception made visual.

So the “monster” isn’t really Hikaru.

It’s Yoshiki’s fear.

And over time, something slowly changes.

The monster stops feeling as scary.

The imagery becomes less overwhelming. Yoshiki starts to sit with it instead of instantly rejecting it. (Where he also got that "mark" on his wrist-- it's indicating that he's slowly accepting the new "Hikaru" and slowly starting to be a part of it...)

And by the end....

when Yoshiki says something like “then I will be part of you,” it feels like acceptance.

Like he’s no longer fully separating himself from Hikaru, or in this case from what Hikaru represents.

He's accepting. Not just of Hikaru, but of the fact that he himself isn’t as “fully straight” or as fixed as he once thought.

So the whole story becomes less about a literal monster…

and more about how Yoshiki sees desire, identity, and his best friend that came back and never fully turned "normal"...

What do you y'all think...??

After more than two years of sitting in the post-production limbo basement after filming wrapped on 19 March 2023, Mystique In The Mirror has been announced to be coming soon on iQIYI Thailand or iQ.com.

Synopsis: Alan is an ordinary young man with memory trouble. His life changes when he begins seeing the ghost of a strange old man every time he looks in the mirror. Alan's dad thinks what he's seeing are hallucinations and sends him for treatment at a psychiatric hospital. There, Alan meets Darwin, the guy in the room next door, and the two develop a bond. However, no matter what, Alan's doctor isn't able to rid him of his hallucinations. Alan begins to suspect what he's seeing aren't hallucinations; rather, he suspects he's being haunted. If so, it means there's something in the past—something Alan isn't remembering—linking him to the ghost of this old man. With Darwin's help, Alan begins to look into his own past. The issue is, Alan comes across a document that reveals his father has long since passed away. Adapted from the novel "Mystique in the Mirror" (ใครในกระจก) by Patrick III Rangsimant (รังสิมันต์).

In a now-deleted IG story, Tou Sedthawut accidentally revealed that Mystique In The Mirror will have its first premiere on October 1 (most likely a hybrid press con/first episode preview event like My Stand-In Premiere, followed by an official release 2 or 3 weeks after)

Mystique In The Mirror was originally hinted to be aired on WeTV, as its teasers/fitting videos were uploaded on WeTV website and also had its own WeTV page. However, plans with WeTV might have fell through so here's Mystique In The Mirror moving houses to iQIYI.

Unrelated but this kinda reminds me of the story of how I Feel You Linger In The Air was first announced as a WeTV series, then moved house to Youku, and now it's been announced that the Special EP will be distributed by WeTV 🤡 The thing both these series have in common: involvement of Insight Entertainment (China-oriented entertainment content import/export company in Thailand) to some extent. 😒

EDIT to add: YYDS Entertainment showing themselves up in the equation aka the production house for Insight Ent Artists aka the same company that helped I Feel You Linger In The Air moved house to Youku after WeTV 😁 YYDS was founded by former WeTV content producer Wan Thabkrajang, who's now exited YYDS to be a freelance producer. YYDS Entertainment has close ties with both iQIYI Thailand and WeTV Thailand.

No wonder singha looked so disturbed and surprised that Thup knew someone hung themselves in that room!

why is Khem so stupid?

why would you try to cast a love spell on the fucking Shaman who has been kind enough to let you stay in his home?