4sakeofart

The argument that you are making on behalf of the lgbtq+ community has merit in reality but not in fantasy. I view the celebration of fantasies of beautiful boys falling in love and making love as harmless fun; e.g. pure entertainment; e.g. without malice or ill will toward the lgbtq+ community. But I do not believe that fantasy and reality are interrelated, so it doesn't seem logical to me that there is a cause and effect relationship between fantasized boys love and misrepresentation and/or aberrant behavior relative to the lgbtq+ community. It is my belief that unwavering support of boys love from the rabid fujoshi fandom increased popularity of all live action yaoi-based boys love media. As such, it brought increased attention to the lgbtq+ situation.

The lgbtq+ community is trying to force change to the original boys love model. But boys love fans enjoy the genre and don’t think that they are doing anything wrong nor casing harm to the lgbtq+ community. But let me put your shoe on my other foot. It seems that you believe that yaoi-based boys love is a subgroup or just another form of gay love. If I understood your post correctly, you also believe that the boys love industry, even in fantasy-based dramas, is trying to co-opt, take over, and/or make over the real life gay experience solely for the purpose of sexual gratification and financial reward. If that were happening, then I would agree with you; e.g., the lgbtq+ community would be wronged, misrepresented and used. But I do not believe that fantasy-based boys love and real life gay love are equivalent. The original female Japanese creators of the yaoi genre were clear about this.

Of course viewers fantasize, fetishize, and romanticize about beautiful boys falling in love. That was one of the primary reasons boys love was created.

Lol. I did not body shame Aki. I said that Miko, who is insanely handsome, may want to consider losing weight. Aki is perfect. Neither of them cares much what I think of their physique. I 'll bet his manager/agent is telling him the same thing about weight. People must lose weight for many reasons. Acting is just one of them, especially boys love. This has nothing to do with body shaming. It's business. Also, sit-ups (for abs) and push-ups (for pecs) are easy and convenient. They can be done anywhere at any time.

One obvious solution to the lgbtq+ community's objection to traditional yaoi-based boys love is to create its own model of lgbtq+ boys love dramas; one that accurately reflects and represents a contemporary lgbtq+ community. I think this would satisfy both parties. Unless the lgbtq+ community can organize a campaign that negatively affects boys love ratings (which is akin to shooting themselves in the foot as it would expose to risk one of the major vehicles it has targeted to promote the lgbtq+ image and agenda), or, it can work with the boys love industry to achieve its goals while working within currently profitable business model, I think the two parties will remain gridlocked.

As a yaoi purist, I try to defend boys love when I think it is unfairly criticized. The entire boys love industry has been very supportive of the lgbtq+ agenda and has always sought to represent the community with dignity. As you know, boys love is undergoing a three-pronged attack: 1) the lgbtq+ community, which accuses it of misrepresentation; 2) the Me Too movement, which accuses it of the glorification of rape; and 3) women rights activists, who accuse it of the marginalization of women. Firstly, yaoi-based boys love has nothing to do with real world gay society. Second, imaginary rape is not equivalent to real rape. Third, the marginalization of women in a boys love drama is to be expected, just as men are marginalized in yuri love dramas. That's how the genres are structured.

The attacks on boys love dramas by so many different groups with so many different political agendas is similar in many ways to an attempted hostile takeover. I defend boys love but agree with you. I also support and welcome lgbtq+ and women rights agendas. But, real world injustice demands real world solutions. Fantasized boys love programming wont address or remedy real world problems affecting the lgbtq+ community.. Boys love is a business, however, and if producers think change is profitable, changes will be made.

I am a huge fan of traditional yaoi-based boys love; e.g. Thai boys love, which is 100% fantasy. I think Filipino audiences prefer a healthy dose of reality with their boys love but this is the first episode of My Day to do that. Until now, it has largely been cute and fluffy. When I come home from a hard day at the office, I want to watch programs that make me feel good. That is why I did not enjoy the second half of episode 11. It’s all a matter of personal taste. I never quarrel with viewers about personal taste because there is no right or wrong. It just is. I also never suggest that my preferred form of boys love is superior to any other because that’s also a matter of taste. Despite the disappointment with the second half of episode 11, I would not watch any drama that I did not like. And I haven’t missed a single episode of My Day.

I won’t back down or apologize for anything I said in my original post. I believe that yaoi-based boys love is under attack from the lgbtq+ community. They want the boys love construct changed to reflect a contemporary gay society. But I don’t understand how an imaginary construct like boys love can threaten, misrepresent, or stereotype the real world lgbtq+ community.. If it feels aggrieved, the lgbtq+ community should seek redress from the offending parties in the boys love industry. That’s how Black, Latino, and Asian American were able to achieve improved representation and image reconstruction in television and movie programs in the USA. So it can be done if handled correctly.

The original boys love creators focused their attention on female fantasies of straight men falling in love. It was never meant to reflect real world gay society because the boys love creators never considered their protagonists to be gay. In order to achieve change, it is first necessary to identify the source of the pain. Boys love is not it. One obvious target for the lgbtq+ community is reality-based gay dramas that insult, misrepresent or stereotype the lgbtq+ community. But arguing that straight males falling in love in a fantasized boys love universe somehow misrepresents the lgbtq+ community is wrong because yaoi-based, sexually fluid males are neither real nor gay.

The reason I said that Miko needs to consider trimming his waistline and developing pecs and abs because boys love is an increasingly popular business which attracts many young actors. Therefore, veteran boys love actors should do whatever they can to increase their market value. A perfect physique is part of the original yaoi-based boys love model. It also appears that the Filipino boys love industry has adopted this part of the model as well because it, too, is casting beautiful young males with beautiful physiques. The reason the original boys love authors focused on beauty and physical physiques is easy to understand. While average Joes fall in love, women do not typically fantasize about the average Joe. They fantasize about men that are unavailable to them in the real world.; e.g., men that are emotionally sensitive and physically perfect.

The light and shadows of Episode 11 is a classic example of why the creators of the yaoi genre chose to focus on the fantasy-based romantic aspects of boys love (as seen in the first half of Episode 11) rather than the real world misery associated with the lgbtq+ struggle (as shown in the second half of Episode 11). Both yaoi-based boys love and Filipino boys love dramas (which are quite similar to gay dramas) feature boys falling in love but it seems that the Filipino boys love model also seeks to educate its viewers and call their attention to present day problems facing the lgbtq+ community. Yaoi has no interest in political agendas or any other real world problems. It was created to entertain and provide women with an escape from the real world. Because I prefer the fantasy-based boys love model, the second half of Episode 11 was a difficult watch for me. Rather than ending the show with a smile, the director and or writers choose to end it with a frown and leave me with anxiety. Also, I think the director asked way too much of Aki (scene with his father) who is new to acting. I assume that the production team did its homework so it must be that they felt Aki was capable of emoting such an intense scene, but I felt that the scene was too big for him, and was somehow reduced to a shouting match. Unlike me, it seems Filipino viewers prefer their boys love with a healthy slice of stark reality. But I can’t help but wonder how long international viewers, who are used to the fantasy-based Thai model will continue to watch a drama they leaves them feeling worse at the end than they did at the start. Because I love Miko and Aki, I keep coming back each week, even though I know some scenes will make me unhappy.

Even if you prefer reality-based boys love; e.g. the shouting match between Ace and his father, I do not believe that art is obligated to reflect reality. There is no absolute right or wrong in boys love. It is simply a matter of personal taste and personal taste requires no explanation. Any assumption that art must reflect reality, however, would mean that fantasy and imagination have no place in the world of art. If this is true, then fantasy-based creations like The Untamed, Aesops Fables, Lord of the Rings, 101 Knights, Six Flying Dragons, Sleeping Beauty, The Allegory of the Cave, Pokemon and Harry Potter would have no place in the world of art. But they do, so we can conclude that art does not need to reflect reality. Yaoi-based boy love is also a fantasy, and any suggestion that it adhere to someone else's real world political agenda, no matter how noble, is both an intrusion and a restriction on its artistic freedom. Art should never be held hostage to real world limitations. We are free to imagine. We don’t criticize fairy tales, wuxia, xianxia, lakorns, telenovas and science fiction, etc because they don’t reflect the real world. So why must boys love do that? There is nothing wrong with escaping reality when life overwhelms us. That’s why boys love exists, to provide that escape, and there is nothing wrong with the consumption and celebration of the boys love art form.

I wonder if steamy bed scenes are made easier when the couples have a previous or existing friendship. For example, Max and Tul were friends long before Together With Me. Jimmy and Tommy were friends before Why RU? Zee had a huge crush on Saint before Why RU? Miko and Aki also worked together before as models before My Day. Friendship and trust might be the reasons why their love scenes are so beautiful. Whatever the reason, these four couples are not the least bit squeamish about sharing tongues and crossing swords (which we would expect of any boys love couple that is in love and physically expressing that love).

Now that a second season has been announced, I wonder if Miko will use the down time to lose the 20 pounds of baby fat around his waist, and, develop his pecs and abs (as Aki has done). It might sound shallow but a lean and fit physique is actually a basic requirement of any actor in a yaoi-based or a reality-based boys love drama.

Like most Boys Love dramas, Filipino BL reflects the contemporary culture of the Filipino LGBTQ+ community. Filipino BL dramas refer to young males in love as gay, despite the fact that they have/had girlfriends. I would never classify anyone attracted to both genders as gay, but perhaps this is common in Filipino society. They are free to do what they want but it does create confusion.

I prefer the traditional fantasy-based yaoi model of BL; e.g., males are sexually fluid. Unlike traditional fantasy-based yaoi BL, the Filipino version of BL (at least the ones I've seen) seem to reject the element of fantasy-based BL in favor of a contemporary reality-based model. This model appears to assume that any sexual identity other than 100% straight is a subclass of homosexuality; e.g., bisexuality. But psychologists have historically rejected such rigid black and white classifications because most of us are neither 100% straight nor 100% gay. We are gray.

It is inevitable that each country will want to structure its BL creation to reflect its own unique culture. Because traditional BL is based in fantasy, it is not limited by reality; e.g. straight guys are permitted to fall in love with each other. But the Filipino BL model is reality-based so it is limited to real world principles; e.g., straight guys do not fall in love with each other, and, bisexuality and homosexuality are independent of each other. Traditional BL has only one sexual identifier; e.g., fluid, but real world BL has to contend with many identifiers (gay, straight, bi, etc.) and this creates confusion because reality-based gay dramas and yaoi-based BL dramas are neither equivalent nor interchangeable.

I noticed that most Filipino BL dramas reference “issues relevant to the current Filipino LGBTQ+ community”. Traditional yaoi-based BL is meant to make us happy, so it will avoid such real world misery. I have no idea which 2020 Filipino BL drama is best (I've only seen two) but I think My Day, made in The Philippines, is a perfect example of traditional yaoi-based BL. It is best described as a romantic musical comedy loaded with unabashed fluff and embarrassing cute. Although slow out of the gate, I would not be surprised if My Day ends up one of the most watched Filipino BL dramas of 2020, because of the adorable and memorable romantic screen chemistry between Aki and Miko; two beautiful souls that are committed to the success of this flawed storyline. Like Max & Tul, Tutor & Fighter, and Saifah & Zon, they are bold, fearless young actors. A perfect pair. The personification of happiness. A permanent smile.

I have read Heaven Official’s Blessing and the sex passages are surprisingly mild. I look forward to the drama since I like Wuxia, Xuanhuan, and Xianxia. I also plan to watch Immortality even though I haven’t finished the novel since there is a lot of excitement surrounding it.

I feel like I owe you a proper response since your reply too my post was so passionate. As always, our artistic temperament is based on our individual set of moral values and cultural practices (like religion and traditions). This is a matter of taste and it is futile to argue taste. We like what we like and we don’t need to defend it. Accordingly, "sex sells" is a matter of taste. I have no problem with it. For example, Wei Wuxian's and Lan Wangji's relationship in The Untamed was based on such an elevated level of consciousness that it would continue to flourish with or without sex.

I don’t criticize or demonize BL production teams because their creations contain sexual content. Every artists should be permitted to present his/her version of Boys Love in a manner that is consistent with his/her unique artistic vision. Whether that creation succeeds depends on whether it can garner satisfactory television ratings; e.g. a measure of how well it established an artistic contract with the viewers.

I think it was Horace who wrote “All art has its place and serves its own purpose”. Sometimes it creates an emotional response in us and sometimes it contradicts what we believe, but, the community of art is big enough and varied enough to absorb all of it. Even "sex sells". What you see here is a reflection of my own artistic temperament. Without malice, and even if we disagree, I wholeheartedly respect you, your moral values, and your artistic temperament.

I have Tencent. I found The Heiress and will check it out. Thank You..

People have really strong opinions about bromance and romance. By definition, a bromance is an emotionally intimate and affectionate relationship between two men; e.g. two males in love (even if that love is platonic). But these characteristics are also present in a romantic relationship. Since both require emotional investment, it seems the only real difference is sexual desire. But how can a viewer recognize sexual desire?

Physical demonstrations of love can take many forms and some can be ambivalent and misleading. I am a huge football fan and I always considered open mouth kissing to be a form of sexual contact. But that's not necessarily true in football. Have you seen the video of the open mouth kiss between Lille midfielder Mathieu Debuchy, and Montpelier forward Olivier Giroud in France's 2-1 victory over Germany in their 2012 friendly? It happened after a pass from Debuchy to Giroud and resulted in the winning goal. I also remember the passionate kiss between Sevilla's Ivan Rakitic and Daniel Carrico after winning the 2014 Europa League Championship. According to the players, the kisses were the result of victorious celebrations. And who can forget the recent open mouth (characterized by many as "lingering") kiss between NFL quarterback Tom Brady and his eleven year old son? None of these kisses involve a sexual desire. So there's no way to decide between bromance and romance based on kissing because even an open mouth kiss (or kissing with tongue) might not demonstrate sexual desire. It can get confusing.

When I characterized the relationship between Wei WuXian and Lan Wangji as romance, I got scolded. Based on the novel, I know that sexual desire was present. But I can understand why those who did not read the novel would see it as bromance. So I guess I was bullied into changing my mind. Based solely on what was shown on video, I can understand why viewers see it as bromance. The difference between romance and bromance is not always clear. It can get confusing and complex. I don't have a problem with either characterization.

I think the burgeoning romantic chemistry between Feng Cheng Jun and Xue Wen Bin (In A Class of Her Own) is much better than that between Lee Sun Joon and Kim Yoon Shik (Sungkyunkwan Scandal), but, the sexually playful bromance between Goo Yong Ha and Moon Jae Shin (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) is vastly superior to the one between Lei Ao and Yu Le Xuan (In A Class of Her Own). What Korean actors Yoo Ah In and Song Joong Ki created is, in my opinion, one of the best bromances of all time. Those two stole the show. Milked every line of dialogue to the last drop. Also, the evil Student Body President in Sungkyunkwan Scandal (Ha In-Soo) was a more complex villain; e.g., although selfish, egotistical and morally flawed, he was still somewhat redeeming and sympathetic. Han Zhi Sheng, the Class Presient here, is far less interesting; a bit boring actually.

I agree that Class of Her Own is a good and enjoyable remake of Sungkyunkwan Scandal. The best it has to offer is the fantastic screen chemistry between Song Wei Long and Ju Jing Yi. As well as the hilarious grinding transformation of the studious , morally upright, and sexually unaware Feng Cheng Jun struggling to cope with feelings of first love.

By the way, my vote for the best girl-disguised-as-boy performance of all time goes to (no surprise) Yoon Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan in the Korean drama, Coffee Prince. She nailed it shut.

My vote for the best bromance of all time goes to Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi in The Untamed, but I think most viewers would agree that, as of this moment, the relationship between Shang Xirui and Cheng Fengtai in Winter Begonia is the best bromance of 2020. What a beautiful, beautiful drama.

I give. I am used to losing arguments here at MDL. I guess I'm like a stubborn circus dog that refuses to learn new tricks. And I'm cool with that. Stay the course and fight fearlessly for what you believe. That's the only way to affect change.

I agree with you, except for one little thing. Right or wrong, Boys Love or not, sexuality can definitely be "toyed with" and has been since the beginning of time.

I don’t have any objection to anything you’ve written here. I live in the real world too (well, mostly). But I never apply real world morals to a fantasy. It's too frustrating. Boys Love is not real so its creators were free to structure that society any way they wanted, even if that structure allowed for sexually fluid heterosexual males falling in love with each other. It’s allowed because it is fantasy.

BL is no different than any other literary genre that employs fantasy. Wuxia (Martial Heroes) is a fictional genre involving regular human protagonists in search of supernatural fighting ability through Chinese martial arts training and Chi. Xianxia (Immortal Heroes) is a fictional genre involving magic, demons, ghosts, immortals (The Untamed, Guardian). It is based on Daoist principles and the pursuit of immortality. Xuanhuan (Mysterious Fantasy) is a fictional genre that merges Chinese mythology and foreign aspects. Let’s not forget Fairy Tales, Science Fiction, and the Supernatural. Each genre is based in fantasy and takes place in a world all its own; e.g., its own society, its own sets of cultural values, its own sets of personal and cultural identifiers, and its own unique moral code. Like Boys Love, these genres don't reflect the contemporary real world either. Were you critical of The Untamed because it failed to reflect real world contemporary gay life? If not, why would any other Boys Love drama need to do that? Why not just reserve political criticisms for real life events and just enjoy the BL fantasy?

I can see that you would prefer BL to reflect a real world gay society. I want it to remain true to its roots. In the end it is not up to us. Boys Love was created and brought to print/screen for women. So, it is women who will determine its fate; e.g., whether it should be changed to reflect real world sensitivities. I doubt your vision of Boys Love will be realized. Not as long as gender-based statistics are skewed in favor of a female demographic. Each of us has our own unique artistic temperament, based on our own cultural backgrounds and moral codes. There is no right or wrong. Art just is. We watch the same drama but through different lenses. So of course our opinions will differ.

Any discussion of Boys Love will be contentious because it flies in the face of reality. The creation of the yaoi genre relied heavily on fantasy. Based on scoring, The Untamed is the most liked BL drama on MDL, and it is pure fantasy. Viewers don’t care whether it's real because it yields multiple feel good moments. Most gay dramas can't match that. Read through the comment sections of a typical BL drama. “It better have a happy ending” and “Does it have a happy ending?” dominate the discussion. Most fans want to be entertained after a hard day’s work and this is where BL has the advantage over a typical gay drama. Even the best gay movies; e.g., Brokeback Mountain, Our Lady of the Assassins involve real world issues that make us sad. It's true that fudanshi viewership is increasing but why would a BL director abandon a proven formula, especially one that is popular with its primary target audience (women) in order to please a demographic whose viewing numbers are running a distant second?

By the way, the yaoi creators employed fantasy but I can create a similar real world mini society without it. Sexual preference is linked to the human genome and environment factors. If genetic sequencing can produce three nipples and two sex organs, it can certainly produce a sexually fluid heterosexual male, especially when environmental factors are brought to bear. Finally, when a gay man is romantically involved with a woman we don’t question his permanent sexual preference. So why must you question the permanent sexual preference of a straight male that is romantically involved with a male? I agree that it is a homosexual experience but may or may not involve a change in permanent sexual identity. Sexual fluidity can happen whether in a real or a yaoi universe.

BL was never meant to reflect gay society. I think BL directors will remain loyal to the original yaoi construct as long as its primary target audience (women) want it that way. I respect your real world analysis and many here agree with you, but as a yaoi purist I believe that Boys Love trumps sexual preference. Because that's how a yaoi universe is structured.

Loaded with unburstable heart, Winter Begonia presents an epic, intensely emotional bromance (Cheng Fengtai & Shang XiRui); a beautifully subdued romance (Cheng Fengtai & Fan Xiang Er, his wife), and a ton of touching redemptive filial relationships between brothers, sisters, brothers & sisters, fathers and sons, teachers and students, and masters and trainees.

There is no romance but Winter Begonia is, in my opinion, the best bromance I've seen since the one-in-a-million legendary relationship between Lan Wang Ji & Wei Wuxian (Untamed). Unfortunately, it saves its best for last, so you will need to be patient.

Winter Begonia (e.g., Rieger Begonia) is a beautiful flower that is built to endure and blossom in winter but with proper nurturing blooms year round. It is one of the most beautiful winter flowers in the world, a pleasure to behold. So is this drama.

You are correct. I was wrong. He has appeared in several comedies, some of which are very popular. I haven't seen High End Crush but I remember Unstoppable High Kick. That was funny. So I edited my original post to reflect my observation that he was not funny in this drama.

It’s ironic. If there’s competition between a beautiful boy and a beautiful girl for the attention of the leading man in a Boys Love drama, we know the outcome. In a Girl-Boy drama with a beautiful guy and a beautiful girl competing for the affection of a straight guy pretending to be gay, we also know the outcome. In my opinion the reason things happen that way is because of this. According to the yaoi doctrine, male sexual identity is fluid. So the presence of the girl is meant to demonstrate the heterosexual side of that fluidity in competition with an emerging homosexual tendency. In a straight-guy-pretends-to-be-gay drama, the gay male love interest is generally meant for comedy. Both are done without malice but I don’t like either trope.

The best reference for Sweet Munchies is Personal Taste. According to Neilsen ratings, Sweet Munchies started out with a cable rating of 1.5% and ended with a rating of 0.44%. Personal Taste started out with a primetime mainstream Neilsen rating of 13.8% and ended with 12.8%. One succeeded. The other did not. But I didn’t like either. And I’m easy. are good dramatic actors. Pretending to be gay in a comedy is funny, and lies and pretension are a part of it but neither Jung IL Woo nor Lee Min-Ho provided comic relief for these two dramas. But pretending to be gay in a drama with unsuspecting female and male love interests more often than not leads to one or more broken hearts. I know that gay, straight, and bisexual love triangles happen in real life and such life experiences can be brought to the screen as drama or comedy but it must be done in such a way that viewers can connect with it emotionally. Others might have but I did not connect with Sweet Munchies. There are too many unlikable characters in this drama and I am naturally predisposed to dislike any drama that leaves me feeling lousy.

I join in praise of Lee Hak Joo. He created a very sympathetic, likable, and warm-hearted character.

“My Love is Coming Home”, the song heard at the 15:20 mark of episode 2 is a celebration of the power of unconditional love and comes from the 5 Alarm Music Catalogue. You can listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziZiiPpFdh0. I expect someone will be looking for this beautiful romantic ballad. I assume Kouros Corporation of Japan and 5 Alarm are responsible for the music soundtrack for this drama since they share a contract. There are several Japanese music tracks but "My Love is Coming Home” is from 5 Alarm’s album "Off The Charts: Ladies First". 5 Alarm provides music for a lot of films, tv shows, commercials, and trailers. I recognized them from Game of Thrones.

The first two episodes of this drama created many memorable moments. But not all of them are adorable and cute; e.g., some are emotionally draining, uncomfortable, and foreboding. But these two young actors are masters of their craft. They leave nothing back stage. They are all in.

I just finished watching My Roommate is a Detective. It is tagged as Chinese bromance but there wasn’t much bromance in it. Leon did make an honest effort but got no help from Yi Tian. As I watched, I kept thinking the bromance they struggled so hard to create could be achieved within minutes with Max and Tul at the helm. I know that Leon Zhang and Hu Yi Tian are very accomplished and decorated actors, and do that much better than Max and Tul, but, Max and Tul have something they don’t; e.g., a once-in-a-lifetime chemistry that can be expanded to include friendship, bromance and/or romance. Chemistry is the most essential component of BL and the most difficult to get right.

Singha Na Ka was the perfect training ground for Manner of Death. Since they did the homework, since they look the part of detectives (masculine, strong, handsome, and sexy); since they are the right age; since they are physically fit and able to do their own stunts (fist fights, karate, gun fight, etc.); since they and the novel are a perfect fit, I expect Max and Tul will disappear inside these roles.

These days, Max and Tul are more suited for Mens Love than BL. Fortunately, there are tons of gay storylines waiting for live action. For example, Trapped (History3) was a wonderful detective gay love story. Still, I can’t help but wonder if Max and Tul are after something else; e.g. a second career after BL. If they are, I hope they find it. I love these guys.

I agree. And Lee Jon-suk and Kim Woobin had to know they were pushing limits. Thank god they did. That drama was beautiful.

I know. I never thought their relationship was based on physical attraction (yaoi) or emotionally-based romance (shounen-ai). Rather Nam-soon and Heung-soo shared a spiritual union of souls based on years of filial and platonic devotion. But even without actual romance, there is more "Boys Love" in School 2013 than any legitimately tagged BL drama I’ve ever seen. It is one of the few “Boys Love” dramas that stayed in my head. That’s why I hold it in such high regard even if it doesn’t technically qualify as BL.

I sometimes worry that some viewers associate a BL tag with physical attraction and a lesser form of artistic creativity. But I don’t think that. A BL drama can be good or bad depending on a wide variety of factors. Whether it is spiritual or romantic, art need only establish an emotional response from its viewers. And BL does that. As an art form, it is different from the rest but it is not less. As a huge yaoi and BL fan, I see the BL tag as a beautiful thing and a very welcome sight.

In hindsight, the creators of the yaoi genre relied on psychic precognition. They understood the hearts and minds of the female gender and created a temporary fix for the missing links. They created beautiful boy-boy romantic fantasies that proved to be the perfect antidote to a life that sometimes was reduced to routine drudgery. Their creation has lasted more than fifty years and is more popular today than ever. It continues to warm our hearts and put smiles on our faces. We owe them big time.