#worst bl

Oct 2022 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Eclipse (Fri YT) 9 of 12 - Aye is such an intense and focused little thing. The eye contact with these 2 is beyond eye fucking into something more like eye soul-mating. The pool kiss was fine, but they looked cold. GMMTV loves a pool kiss. 

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) 9 of 14 - this show makes me cry. Fee is a wonderful friend. This was a good episode, it was fun to see Eiw come into his own. I look forward to the reunion next week.

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) 2 of 10 - I figured it out, this is Make it Right the uni years! That’s why I like it. Nhai Is apparently flirtier and gayer when drunk. I’ve known some British lads like that. OK so sex happened. I like that there was some kind of confused drunken consent. But also serious regrets and bisexual identity crisis. Poor Nhai: You can’t have your friend and eat him too. This plot is moving quickly: it’s ep 2 and they have slept together and confessed, plus a one month trial relationship. I like it. This is messy gay in a way I appreciate. 

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Weds YouTube & Gaga) 1 of 8 - I'm enjoying the lead pair, the meet cute, and the combative nature of their relationship. I’m not wild about the premise but I like how different it is from all the previous “my ghost boyfriend” takes on this concept. More “our human pet.” I’m beginning to be weirdly charmed by how bureaucratic the Thai afterlife always seems to be. 

Big Dragon (Sat Gaga) 1 of 8 - Basically we have player love-rivals (a girl)/enemies to lovers + a rich/poor pairing: Yai & Mangkorn. It had a good hook but most of the ep was dull; thankfully Gaga has a 1.5x speed. The acting is bad but the sex scene was fine: dominance struggles, lots of switching, and verse stuff. *we likie* This show is using drugging (impaired judgement/dub-con/both men), sexual extortion, and blackmail as a plot device not unlike LITA. But it’s using antiheroes and presenting everything, including the characters, in a negative light. Thus right now in BL we have a great example of how the same plot device can be depicted differently and result in an entirely different perspective and watcher experience. In other words: a narrative I’m hating in LITA doesn’t bother me here, because of characterization.  

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) 3 of 7 - The agro yet deeply in-crush behavior of our tsundere seme is kinda fun, but the fashion remains truly terrible and the most unpleasant performer in this show. Although it’s got competition. 

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) 8 of 13 - the premise and blackmail set up for this couple really fucked with me (because Sky is a broken angel-baby and Pai is an irredeemable pustule). I am not happy about it: DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE. That said, there is a GREAT analysis of Sky’s character here (that I totally enjoy and want to be true, but I think gives Mame too much credit). 

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 4 of 12 - So Fah’s bf cheated first? Okay, still doesn’t justify his behavior. Honestly, I really can’t stand this show. Now we are playing a game of how long can I go before dropping it.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan Thurs GaGa & Viki) 7 of 8 - these two pretty much define awkward. Takara because he is trying desperately to keep his cool reserve (and perform perfect seme) while simultaneously being so in love/lust with Amagi in high school where desire is, by definition and practice, uncool. Amagi is all frenetic movements and angles, like he cannot control his limbs or his emotions, everything is deeply confusing to him including Takara’s affection. Watching them stumble around each other and agonize over every little movement and conversation is an exercise in joy, patience, and agony. It’s all so “teenager” I can hardly stand it. This episode, however, was more about Tanaka coping with learning his friend is 1. not straight and 2. deeply in love with an adorable weirdo. It was a quieter ep than I expected but sweet. “He said something cute and I couldn’t help myself“ is so traditional Japanese seme in one sentence I can’t even.

Kabe Koji (Japan Mon Viki) 1 of 10 - basically this is A Man Who Defies the World of BL + Senpai This Can’t be Love (as @heretherebedork said). Nakao Masaki playing a sunshine bouncy himbo character is a fucking revelation, I didn’t think he had it in him. But our tsundere uke is far too tsundere for me, and despite the premise (AN IDOL LOVE INTEREST!) I do not not really like it. I just hate the stalker photograph obsession thing (My Engineer, SCOY, STCBL, now this) and I can’t support a character that starts out this way, it’s apparently a trigger I didn’t know I had until BL tried to romanticize it. I love Nakao Masaki (in a non stalker, no photos kind of way) so I might muscle through but... 

Once Again (Korea Fri GaGa) 7-8fin - Cute date plus hand holding and a mild but sweet moot kiss does not a satisfying ending make. They are great boyfriends even if only for a few days. As expected, like Kissable Lips, this one ends sad. Can’t stop the Koreans when a temporal paradox and death is on the line. They do love their tragedy, not to mention unavoidable fate. 2/10 NOT RECOMMENDED

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y - 20 eps A spy have reported in on a spoiler assessment of the first 2 installments here. 2 more to go. 

Oh My Sunshine Night 16 eps - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe, so far reported to be quite the soap opera. 

To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai 10 eps - dito OMSN, so I’m holding until it finishes its run. 

My Roommate - 32 eps of 2 minutes each? Terrible production values, worse than the pulps. I not bothering. 

In Case You Missed It

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us had a sad end, or at least, not a happy one, so I will not be watching it. I’m happy to leave it permanently listed dnf. 2022 will be the year I dnf’d the most BL, partly because there’s so much of it. (Thailand is at 108 BLs and counting this year). 

I talk a lot on this blog about linguistics (language intersecting with culture) here’s a fun podcast from Hidden Brain on How language shapes our perspective on life. 

Gossip

HIStory 5 is coming! Called HIStory5: Love in the Future. Since it’s going to be the only one under the 5 moniker I’ll probably default (like it did with H4) to just calling it H5. 

That omegaverse Thai BL got cancelled. Probably because of the fuss being kicked up about it. I am sad. No trash watch for me. Maybe Japan will still do one at some point. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: Remember Me starts tomorrow, Thai (Sun Gaga)1 of 8. 2 Moons 3 Thai (Mon ??) 1 of 10. Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Thurs Viki) 1 of 8. SELF Thai (Thurs ??). My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga & Viki) 1 of 12. Hard Love Mission Thai (Sat WeTV & iQiyi?). Wish Me Luck Thai (Sat ??). 

I’m traveling so I may not be able to watch the ones I already have in rotation, let alone track down the new babies. You on your own peeps, best of luck! 

Honestly Thailand, too many. You gotta stop now. We saturated. 

FULL October 2022 line up is here.

This week’s best moments?

The return of That Staircase in Eclipse! 

Tell us something we don’t know, Aye. 

Breaking news: Cute bit is very cute. 

Work from Heart: I just love the sniff test trope (AKA I like the way he smells) one of my favs. 

Although neck kisses are good too, thanks Ai Long Nhai. 

Activating seme agressive tendencies. 

Bisexual rep, yes please! 

And a direct address of drunk one night stand regrets. You’re doing well little pulp. 

Such boyfriends. 

The most seme line in a BL ever. 

(last week)

(spoiler, I lost)

Oct 2022 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Eclipse (Fri YT) 10 of 12 - Neo is so damn good in this role. But the plot is starting to drag. I don't think this show will hold up to a binge watch. But Akk & Aye really are a killer couple. Akk caught himself a live one. I didn’t even mind the wifey talk. 

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) 10 of 14 - Cake being back and jealous as fuck and totally into Eiw is way better and more satisfying than I thought it would be. Santa is good in this role. These 2 define codependency and it’s a little worrying, but Cake’s unalloyed joy at being with Eiw and just looking at him again is the warmest I’ve felt since the final ep of DNA Say Love You. This is a greta little show. 

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) 3 of 10 - It is a perfectly serviceable little pulp, it’s hitting all the tropes, but was a bit dull this ep (plus a bit crass and theres the stalker thing). I don’t really have a lot to say about it. Ai does switch from mueng to ter after kissing Nahi - that was cute! 

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Weds YouTube) 2 of 8 - I still hold that the lead couple is nice but not sure about anything else. 

Remember Me (Sun Gaga) 1 of 8 - I don’t know what it is about a voice over + Thailand but it never works well, it’s always jaw-clenchingly cliché. I don’t know if it’s the way the script is written or the limited capacity of those captioning it, but it’s never as poetic as it’s trying to be. It’s like a poem written by a middle schooler who thinks they’re very deep. This is one of those situations where the Gaga interface is failing me, because I need the skip ahead button and not the 1.5 speed (although I’m using it). Look, I’m really not into 90s nostalgia. All that said, and despite the fact that this was mostly about a pack of kids running around, which is not my thing, I actually enjoyed this ep. I was hoping to take this one out of rotation because I have too much on at the mo. But I guess it’s staying in. JaFirst = penpals who never meet. ManTitle = sunshine chatty and The Boy Who Never Speaks. Mean = the clownish leader, and random other boy = the token het. 

Big Dragon (Sat Gaga) 2 of 8 - Surprise kink! This is a bunch of rough and angry nonsense, but fun nonsense. Like relationship drama between friends you don’t really like. Things that are meant to be funny, aren’t funny, things that are meant to be tense, aren’t tense, but I’m still watching it. I think that makes me the sucker, tho. 

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) 4 of 7 - My Favorite boy with the tattoos makes a reappearance. But mostly this show is just really boring. 

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) 9 of 13 - whatever, Pai: DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE. 

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 5 of 12 - And I’m out. This one is a dnf for me. Someone can tell me if the 2nd half is worth it, after it finishes, but I’m not gonna bother to watch it every week anymore. I genuinely don’t like any of the couples and the fujoshi framing is repulsive under the context of a narrative trying to be this authentically gay. I’ve lost all patience. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan GaGa & Viki) 8fin - These 2 were tooth achingly sweet and impossibly lovely. This show was beyond charming: soft, gentle, adorable and packed with cuteness and angst. Did anything actually happen? No. Was there any kind of even attempt at a plot? No. Did I enjoy the hell out of it, anyway? Oh yes. 9/10 TOTALLY RECOMMENDED UNDEMANDING FLUFFY GOODNESS 

Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Thurs Viki) 1 of 8 - I like it a lot. Rich poor. Enemies to lovers. Forced proximity. Pretty boys. What’s not to enjoy? 

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga & Viki) 1 of 12 - It’s cute, quirky, well acted, and a bit slow moving. Pretty much what I expected. 

Kabe Koji (Japan Mon Viki) 2 of 10 - Seriously this should be everything I love in the world but Japan has to be overly creepy and stalker about it and now it’s totally borked it for me. Oh well. I’m still watching.

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y 20 eps - it’s just all too much for me.

My Roommate 32 eps of 2 minutes each + terrible production values? - I’m not bothering.

Oh My Sunshine Night 16 eps (update: 20) - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe, so far reported to be quite the soap opera.

To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai 10 eps (update: 28!) - dito 

2 Moons 3 Thai (Mon ??) 10 eps - I searched for it in a lacklustre manner but couldn’t find it legally anywhere convenient so gave up. I will watch it if it’s easy to do so. 

SELF (Thurs ??) - same again 

Wish Me Luck (Sat ??) - and again

Hard Love Mission (Sat WeTV?) - and again 

I might have a bit of a hunt when I get back, but for now it difficult enough to keep up with the main list. 

Gossip

I have been seriously considering an UWMA rewatch (as Between Us starts up next month). I’ve never chronicled or properly reviewed UWMA (which is my all time favorite Thai BL). And my understanding of Thai has markedly improved since i last watched it. What do you think? Anyone else interested? 

Japan announced a new Takumi adaptation. I think is is a terrible idea for many reasons. 

Sorry the whole work thing means I haven’t had time to check my usual sources for BL announcements and new releases. Also, you’ll notice very few screen shots. It’s a mad crazy world out there beyond the boundaries of one’s homey high speed internet. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Look my calendar is a nightmare. It’s all just too much right now, you’ll have to wait tell I get everything sorted. There’s a lot of stuff airing, you should watch what you like and ask me for recs if none of it appeals. 

October 2022 line up is here.

This week’s best moments?

Finally!

Those smiles! 

So many jellies 

(last week)

Sept 2022 Wk 5

Happy fall everyone! 

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Eclipse (Fri YT) Ep 8 of 15 - The pacing is starting to feel off and I am getting frustrated with the plot. That said, K is such a killer actor. And Aye is so damn pushy but with emotions as well a physical affection, he exposes his own vulnerability as a kind of benevolent attack on Akk to instill trust and worth and value and safety. Akk is just so scared and closeted. This whole narrative is less about love than it is about courage. Whether that is courage to live or courage to love. 

Vice Versa (Sat on YT) Ep 12fin - They are very cute and domestic boyfriends, and I realize GMMTV often does domesticity with their couples in the final episode. I’m thinking about the fantastic final ep of Dark Blue Kiss. “Celebrity coming out for love” is very Love Stage!!  Interesting that they advertised Not Me at the end, does that mean we have no new BL in this time slot from GMMTV next week? Curious choice they still have 4 more from their 2022 lineup.* I half expected the high school one. 

So what do I have to say about Vice Versa? 

It’s a solid BL with a weak plot but a strong concept. It’s very well acted and Jimmy remains the most charismatic talent that GMMTV currently fields. I hope we get more of this pair, either together or separated. That said, this is never going to be one of my top rewatch rotations, so I’m calling it for an 8/10. RECOMMENDED 

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) Ep 8 of 15 - Oh goody more pain. Look I like the noona romance thread. It’s obvious she had to break his heart, it’s what I would’ve done, it’s what Minato should have done. But it was still sad to watch. This is a well cast show. Sniffling at the end of this ep. Looking forward to seeing Siew come into his own and Cake crumble while they are apart. 

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) Ep 1 of 10 - Words cannot adequately describe how much I dislike the credit sequence and music on this show. I nearly DNFed before a single line was spoken. The subs are also not good, but my Thai is getting better so I don’t mind as much as I once did. The show leads us out with: Slow motion + instalove + tons of familiar faces + some very terrible sound effects. Pretty much standard pulp territory. Despite all this, I actually kinda like it and they are so pretty. A rare sunshine/sunshine pairing! Nhai is an adorable idiot and Ai is confident king and I’m chortling away. Also GAY DADS played by IRL husbands Arm & Porsch! We’re good here, I’m happy. 

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) Ep 2 of 7 - Cute ex boyfriends. Thank god for uniforms. But now evil ex is overly aggressive. I’m getting Check Out vibes and that’s not a good thing. I love the tattooed actor who plays Guy, I wish he’d get more roles. I loved him in Ingredients too. 

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) Ep 7 of 13 - It was a fine ending to the first couple and a good (if audio dubious) start to the second. I made more puns in the DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE.

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 3 of 12 - And now identical twins? SERIOUSLY?  The show sucks so bad. The story of 2 players never runs deep. Absolutely nothing happened this episode. I might drop this one. 

* GMMTV’s remaining 2022 BL line up is:

My School President - which I expected to be in VV’s time slot.

Moonlight Chicken - EarthMix’s next one, probably what they are working on next

Be My Favorite - recasting 

Never Let Me Go - filming now (assuming this will take on Eclipse’s time slot) 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan Thurs GaGa & Viki) 6 of 8 - This is my favorite BL currently airing BY A LANDSLIDE. 24 minutes of pure agony and joy. It just makes me so happy but it’s also so high school angst and traumatic to live through. This is the best of Japanese BL, I keep getting a feel of Seven Days off it and I don’t mention that comparison lightly. Takara is SO CORNEY. Also. THAT ENDING. Yes. Exposed! No more secrets! Squee! I can’t wait to see what happens next week. 

Once Again (Korea Fri GaGa) 5-6 of 8 - This show. I swear it’s so in the throat creepy and tense (in a Kassandra the mad prophet way) but also weirdly sweet. Poor Ji Hoon, he’s such a nice guy in a world just has a in for him one way or another. I’m glad both actors are so good since it’s the whole reason to watch this. I’ve no idea how they are going to manage to resolve it, but it looks like we get a cute date next ep!  

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y - too hard on my soul. Will I watch it eventually? Maybe? Probably not. I think we have an ITSAY situation going on here. Also BL Express was not best pleased, and I while we rarely share taste, in this instance I trust their reporting.

My Tempo - a Thai BL movie about the Thai music industry. Yeah, no thank you.

Oh My Sunshine Night - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us - ditto above

In Case You Missed It 

More Than Words (Japan indie subbed by furritsubs) - TIP ‘EM if you like em!)  All the eps have dropped, so I binged it. Basically the definition of moody arthouse smackdoodle. Makki is an outgoing but mysterious boy with secret pain. Eiji is the an older gay boy struggling with identity. Mieko is a broken angry girl who both makes them work as a couple and aches to belong with them. This is a story about all 3 and their complicated interweaving relationship. It’s about love and intimacy in all its many faceted forms. This is not, and I'm being very clear here, a romance. In fact this is not a romantic show in any way. It’s poetic, sad, and wistful. Is it beautiful and a little lovely? Yes. Did I like it? No. For BL stans like me? NOT RECOMMENDED. For the ITSAY and YNEH folks... have at. BL Express likes this kind of thing and did a great review. 

Zero Supporter featuring EarthMix in their KornWin roles dropped. Look these two are just so cute together. They aren’t as good at this premise as OffGun were in Our Skyy, tho. Still, ultimately, I like this special better than the original Cupid’s Last Wish. 

NetJames (forthcoming BL Bed Friend) portray a BL side couple in Thai drama Catch Me Baby starting Oct 6 on WeTV. 

Semantic Error won Best Couple at the APAN Star Awards 2022. And Jaechan won the Popularity Award. 

Gossip

Thai casting call went out for the world’s first omegaverse BL Midnight Fortune. Twitter went as pearl-clutchingly hysterical over it as we might expect. It's not my thing personally and I doubt I will like it (frankly I doubt it'll be very good, either, the plot looks like it was written by MAME & Jittirain) but you better believe I will dumpster fire trash watch this SO HARD if it airs. It's about time Thai BL started to get seriously experimental in its cinemagraphic life cycle. It will be gloriously whackdoodle. I did have it down for Japan first, Thailand is so plucky! 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: Mon: To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai - Thai (10 eps 40 min ea) on One31HD & possibly WeTV. Kabe Koji - Japan (10 eps 20 min ea) on Viki.  Weds: Ghost Host, Ghost House - Thai (5 eps 30 min? ea) YouTube for reruns. Sat: Big Dragon - Thai (8 ep 40 min ea) reruns on Star Hunter’s YT. Sun: Remember Me - Thai (8 ep 40 min ea) Gaga. 

FULL October 2022 line up is here. 

This week’s best moments?

Fucking awesome Takara. 

This year’s Namgoong Award for BEST WINGMAN goes to Katori in Takara & Amagi. He’s glorious. 

Ai Long Nhai calling itself out. 

And again. 

Eclipse being a tease. 

My Only 12% pulling our heart strings.

Vice Versa, beat that drum honey! 

I LOVE a back hug. 

(last week)

Sept 2022 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Eclipse (Fri YT) Ep 7 of 15 - Screw you GMMTV, that was a dream kiss? That’s some Kdrama bullshit, that is. Still Aye is such a good character, so perceptive, I ADORED his interaction with Kan. Neo is doing an epic job with that role. That was that softest achey stolen kiss in the world. Also this ep = Beach frolic trope and a Make It Right moment.

Vice Versa (Sat on YT) Ep 11 of 12 - DOOM EP was not very doom for an ep 11 (except for the acoustic guitar). Pluen goes back because of what Tun did accidentally, not him, which honestly I kinda like as a twist. I was very confused about the “month long tidal inaction,” did the alt universe have extra moons or something? 

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) Ep 7 of 15 - a tear jerker this week and likely next too. Also piggybacking across a bridge, two tropes in one. We about to get the time jump which is going to be interesting. 

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) pulp office drama featuring lots of couples starring Gameplay. Started dropping on YT so I picked it up and stuck it into rotation. Poor Dee, his gramps is so overactingly bad, mean, evil, and homophobic. Still there is a sweet little masked meet cute. There’s a bunch of drama around a workplace and other couples all over the rainbow, so that’s fun. Sort of SCOY goes to work. There’s some nifty linguistic stuff going on so I’m actually enjoying this pulp trash. Shocking. Truly TERRIBLE wardrobe tho. And I don’t love Nammon w facial hair. 

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) Ep 6 of 13 - Not a bad episode, I wasn’t mad about it. But that’s kind of how I am with MAME, it’s always up or down and last week’s a cappella counter liftt situation rough, so I’m glad this one was a bit of a break. DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE.

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 2 of 12 - I do not like the narrative framing technique of the female blogger/whatever. Her character does not belong in this show. What she hast to say is unnecessary, pat, and boring. In other news we got into KP bathroom territory really quickly. “Do you really like him or do you just want to win?” would appear to be the premise of this show. Both characters are players, cheaters, flirts, and anti-heroes. They better both be deeply wounded or the narrative can’t save them. I’m assuming Sher made himself this way after some similar player type broke his heart. Not sure about Fah. That said, I do like how very gay, switchy, and verse these two are. Although a complete change of underwear in the middle of a sex scene was weird to say the least. I like the side dishes. No surprise there. Still I’m not sure I can take 12 episodes of this nonsense. I contemplated a trash watch but I’m not feeling snark-inspired just sad about it.

Linguistics corner:

Fah is using phi/nai or nong (in a belittling way) with Sher. Sher is using guu/mueng with Fah, Which is highly inappropriate and rude with a phi. These two are linguistically combative, to say the least. Also the show has all the wifey language your a little heart could possibly desire.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan Thurs GaGa & Viki) 6 of 8 - No new Ep 6 this week. Have a lovely Shūbun no Hi if you celebrate. Otherwise it’s a good tome to be self reflective and contemplate about life balance etc.. around the Autumnal Equinox. 

Once Again (Korea Fri GaGa) 3-4 of 8 - It’s a little bit more creepy than it is romantic, but it’s also weirdly amusing (this strange kid just keeps hugging him - that’s like 1000x even weirder in Korea than most places) and more enjoyable than it has a right to be. It’s a really interesting take on the childhood crush trope among other things. JaeWoo must seem like SUCH a weirdo to JiHoon. I guess what I’m saying is, it’s odd but tense and well acted, which is a nice change for BL.

More Than Words (Japan indie subbed by furritsubs - TIP ‘EM if you like em!) Adaptation of Etsuko’s two mangas In The Apartment + More Than Words. Has a violent crazy beginning but it is necessary for the story. About a lonely neglected/abused girl and a cheerful kindly popular boy who go to school together and become besties. When they get part-time work at a restaurant, a cute older gay boy enters the picture. This is classic Japanese close-filmed melodrama, and it isn’t a BL. But it is excellent. Can’t be relied on to resolve happily, or even resolve at all. I’m engaged even knowing this, and I love this subber so I’m gonna stick with it.  

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y - too hard on my soul. Will I watch it eventually? Maybe? Probably not. I think we have and ITSAY situation going on here. Also BL Express was not best pleased, and I while we rarely share taste, in this instance I trust their reporting.

My Tempo - a Thai BL movie about the Thai music industry. Yeah, no thank you. 

Oh My Sunshine Night - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us - ditto above 

Finished This Week

Coffee Melody (Mon Viki) Ep 10fin - (I am assuming episode 11 is a bts or music video.) The family dinner with the new bf was endearing awkward. We had a classic Korean one year time jump in the last five minutes of the final episode. (Which shoudl be left to Korea. Actually, even Korea should get to have it anymore. We’re done with this trope. I say this on behalf of the international viewing public.) My side crumbs got a cute little mutual kiss, unfortunately ALSO multiple sing your feelings tropes. (Will I ever get a week of BL without this trope?) It will be a long time before I forgive this BL for muffling Pavel’s light this way, I know he can do better. Very disappointing. Ultimately this show is so forgettable I’ve pretty much already forgotten it. 5/10 JUST DULL

Papa & Daddy 2 (Mon GaGa) Ep 8fin - It was a standard execution of the “marriage finale” endemic to most romcoms, just v. gay. I do like that my second lead syndrome got a little prospective action. Did I tear up at the wedding? Of course I did. We have established this before, I am a sap. All in all, this was a serviceable follow up to the first installment in the series, if riddled by unbearably unlikable parents, lack of story, and sappiness. 6/10 WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED 

About Youth (Taiwan Mon GaGa) Ep 7-8 of 10 - I thought this was a 10 episode arc so I’m a little sad to find it ending this week. Are we ever going to get an explanation about what happened with the side dishes Taiwan really likes a romantic “one boy balances another boy on wheels” thing. I really wanted Guang to leave his awful parents but Im glad he at least threw the test. And I really appreciated that he sent a video since it was a way for him to accurately communicate his feelings without being interrupted. Cute final kiss! Very squee-worthy. Rainbow was a little on the nose. tho. All in all it was great little BL. Classic YA low drama but high angst, I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. I wish it had been given a bit more space to breathe, but all in all a great edition to the Taiwanese Bl lexicon which was in dire need of a good sold high school BL. Full review here. 8/10 RECOMMENDED 

Everyone say “Thank you Taiwan, may we have another?” 

Gossip

In a Forbes interview the executive producer of Semantic Error (and CEO of AXIS CPP) revealed that AXIS production will be opening Blue by Blue, a drama label whose first BL project is about vampires. Interview here. 

Kimmon and Copter are reported to star on their 7th BL together, a romantic comedy series, Boy Never Smiles. KimCop aren’t the longest running pair (MaxTul, BoomPeak, OffGun, and KarnNut trade that crown around) but they may now have the most BLs under their collective belts. 

New Thai BL from Uncommon Studio Midnight Fortune adapted from a Y-novel by wickedwish for 2023. The MDL and tag lines are bonkers so I’m not dignifying them here. 

Cutie Pie is getting a least one special episode, The Wedding, we assume. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: Tomorrow Sept 25, 2022. 

ErthMix’s Cupid’s Last Wish special spin-off mini series Oishi advertisement Ep3 of Magic Of Zero: Zero Supporter on GMMTV’s YouTube. 

Male Entertainer (movie?) from Wayfilm, about a young man who works as an escort to support his family, on their YouTube channel (Trailer)

Monday Sept 26, 2022 

Ai Long Nhai (Thai Mon 10 eps iQIYI) About a man expelled from foreign university who returns to a Thai univ in disgrace and meets A Boy. Adapted from a y-novel, directed by Nob (La Cuisine, Gen Y). Secondary couple Nan & Sippakorn are IRL husbands Arm & Porsch (Together with Me). Familiar faces include Gun (Love Area’s Valen) and Jom (Nitiman’s Jin).

Ending: Vice Versa 

October line up coming soon, still waiting on distribution for some. 

This week’s best moments?

Heartbreaking but so good, My Only 12%. 

About Youth giving us a seriously classic old romance trope 1950s style. 

4th wall breaking snarky bestie in Work From Heart. 

And even more snarky queers. 

They were shiny crumbs in a sea of dull, Coffee Melody. 

This week’s worst fashion? 

OMG Work from Heart with the HELL? 

(last week)

What are, in your opinion, some of the worst shows BL shows out there (In terms of rep, but also story and chemistry if that isn’t too much of an ask.)?

BAD BAD BL

Ooo, I don't like to neg. But I'm feeling tetchy this evening.

I do have a Top 15 Best & Worst BLs list here. But I cheated on the worst list because I went for the hard core dark stuff.

And here's my Top 10 Most Disappointing Thai BLs. Some of these were terrible chemistry, some of them bad story, others high expectations, or not to my personal taste.

Okay, so let's put some criteria into place?

Modern BL stylings only, so none of

the super crazy dark stuff from Japan

the super censored stuff from China (Fairy Fox anyone? I mean WHAT?)

No microfilms.

No arthouse smackdoodle (waves bye bye to a lot of Japanese stuff).

No baby industries like Vietnam because they haven't had much of a chance to grow yet

In fact, let's eliminate all the early stuff from play? So the BL has to have been made within the last 5 years - AKA they should know better.

So basically only Thailand, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan post 2017 are gonna be in this game.

Here we go...

Worst BL Shows: Rep

2gether (Thai 2020) - will I ever forgive this show for Green, the predatory femme gay? Maybe someday, but today is not that day

My Bromance 2 (2021) - see above, only maybe even worse because drugs and addiction and age gap, then they cut that story thread for the movie remake and tried to pretend they didn't do it or something?

TharnType (Thai 2019) - conflate pedophile with gay, will you? glorify dub con? romanticize rape? you unmitigated fuckwits

2 Moons (Thai 2020) - there are no women at all in this show, this is some super basic shit, literally they forgot to rep half the population

Fish Upon the Sky (Thai 2021) - just all stalking and gaslighting and refusing to take no for an answer, you can also put racist, and punching-down humor on the docket for this one, it's a shit show and GMMTV should be ashamed of themselves

There are more but these are the ones that spring to mind first. I don’t wanna but HIStory 4 probubly should be on this list too. 

Worst Shows: Story

Dark Blue and Moonlight (Taiwan 2017) - just, what, why, stop it Taiwan (they did).

Tropical Night (Korea set in Thailand 2017) - and again, seriously, stop using BL to work out your baggage

Method (Korea 2017) - age gap & and idol romance it could have been amazing, instead it was just trying to be artistic and failing

My Dream (Thai 2018) - such a great idea, gender bending rep, just went sideways

In Between Seasons (Korea 2018) - they thought they could be dark like Japan, silly 

Friend Forever (Thai 2020) - I loved this show but only for what it should have been

Again I could keep going but, there would be a ton of ground to cover, so these are the worst I can think of right now.

Bad All Rounders

Waterboyy (Thai 2017)

The Best Twins (Thai 2019) - they tried to censor or something, so weird

2 Wish (Thai 2019)

Love Poison (Thai 2019)

Love Machine (Thai 2021)

The Cupid Coach (Thai 2021)

Hometown's Embrace (Thai 2021)

Hidden Love (Thai 2021)

My Boy (Thai 2021)

Country Boy (Thai 2021)

With a few exceptions these are all Thai BL pulps.

I didn't do chemistry but I find YYY's poor, also Ossan's Love (original) and Love Stage!! Japan's first version.

(source)