Lyson

Guys, I'm a fan of PondPhuwin and I'm struggling to get through ep 2, any motivation to continue despite the excess campness?

Keen

I will try, I've watched Gun and the other guy in Not Me before, I can probably make it through an ep or two and like you said, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised! What you said about Dew and Gun makes me think of how I wish Thailand wouldn't strictly stick to fixed pairs. Pond and Santa would be so fucking hot together in a BL. And there are others too, who would be GREAT with another partner. I don't mind repeat pairings, but fixed? It's a waste.

I don't even know who wrote it, I just know the dialogue doesn't flow well, it feels way too stiff and forced, but it's a hit right? I think it's been renewed for a second season, so fans will be happy about it.
"I mean, what you're saying makes total sense from a writing standpoint, but even with sports romances people are still mainly coming for the romance" ~~ it's interesting you mention this, just yesterday I posted a comment explaining to someone who asked here on MDL, what is the difference between BL and LGBTQ and this is one of the main things I mentioned. That BLs will sideline plot and sensible writing flow for romance to cater to fans. And that's why when I saw someone online call HR a BL I didn't disagree because it absolutely is. It's not the same as SKAM and Young Royals and the other LGBTQ shows, it's actually written like a western BL.
I'm a person who can watch a show like a typical BL and accept what it lacks, but if it includes a proper storyline, proper character development and world building that adds to the romance and over all story, it's even better imo. For someone who doesn't like sports, and like most BL fans, I guess the fact they skipped the hockey will work out better for their viewers.
Could be budget, could be they can't play hockey to save their lives XD lol who knows.

Wow, our BL quality list is pretty damn similar. I think I can't put Taiwan above Thailand because they make too few BLs to really rate. It's like buying product online that has 5 star rating but only 10 raters versus a product online that has a 4.7 rating but 2000 raters. lol

I want to stab whoever thinks introductory narration is necessary in every single Japanese BL, please get an original clue it sucks. I can't say I agree about Japanese BL content, it's always so bland and dull to me, I get bored in record time. Also Japan and SK have the lowest success rate on delivering good chemistry between actors and even basic kisses. As for the short format BLs, I rarely even bother to try those, waste of everyone's time! On a very shallow note, I also think Japan's actors have the weakest aesthetic/visual/face cards in the whole industry. Just my opinion. SK is second on that for me, so when I add all those things lacking together and usually I can't make it to watch. Nothing to hold my attention.

Yeah, Thailand is always trying, and some are managing to step up.
I also hope we can get MORE proper Chinese BLs, no one does character and world dev like they do.
Oh yeah, hell no, I will drop something even after 3 min if I don't like it. People who can't drop shows must suffer a lot lolololol

I'm one of those people who never ever watched Stranger Things, it's not my vibe.

Happy to help :3

BL as a genre caters to a different audience, not necessarily in age but it certainly attracts mostly females who prefer a high 'romance' factor to dominate the over all story, regardless of genre or attempted plot. It also follows a specific tropey format that is generally unserious, over the top and most BLs prioritize certain 'youthful' and 'perfect' character visuals/personalities and repetitive plots, because the fanbase prefers those things as a focus. Basically, a lot of BLs are more on the unrealistic side, it's also only 'gay' on a shallower more flowery level. Not all BLs mind you, quite a few of them in the past (early days) and recently do try to be more serious, which has been nice for a change.

LGBTQ+ as a genre is more realistic regarding the aspects and dynamics of homosexuality in real life (this does not include whatever sub genre it belongs to), and the audience they cater to may be varied or specifically for people of LGBTQ+ community depending on the story content, which also used to vary more than BL (but BLs have been branching out). The shows are more serious and focus on either the plot or the character development in turns or separately, or both at the same time, but it doesn't follow a tropey formula and it usually delves into deeper and more complicated issues either directly about homosexuality or relating to it and how it affects the plot over all.

Yes, Levi is the right one, I searched it. It was his 'I'm so done with everything' vibe. lol made him likeable.

You're the second person to tell me I should give Burnout Syndrome a try despite not liking the actors and you know what, why not. I was originally going to skip Shine because I was never previously very caught up in the Mile Apo trend and I didn't know Son and Euro, but that was a pleasant surprise. So I'll put it on my PTW list. I'm not watching much BL rn, but after two similar explanations and reccs for this show, I'm guessing something about it must stand out, so I'll keep an open mind.

I can't even deal with the 14 year old girl fanfiction dialogue in HR. And I'm in the minority, but I'm one of those people who feel if you base a show on plot based in sport, showing the actual sport being played at least occasionally is a good idea. Maybe because I don't mind watching sports but I feel like it helps with world and character building a lot. If someone writes 'he's one of the best players of a generation' and then I never see what makes him outstanding, I'm already losing interest yk? I can't just be TOLD the character is so great, I need to see it depicted or I can't take an interest. I can't think of how to explain it. Not only about sports, but in any genre.

#justiceforDaouOffroad frfr

Thai BLs drop the ball often, but I still personally rate BL quality/entertainment/visual aesthetic value as
China
Thailand
Taiwan
SK
Japan
I generally finish or mostly finish BLs from China and Taiwan (which isn't difficult since there are so few) and for Thailand, I take a chance on most of them, whether I drop them or not in the end. But SK and JP I usually drop on the first ep, sometimes 10 min in, or skip them entirely based on synopsis or actors. If 10 JP BLs air in a year, I drop about 8 of them. SK too, I drop many. So I guess I definitely would rate Thai BLs fairly well when I think I about what I prefer to watch. They try, they really do. They need a lot of improvement, but they still TRY to be more and do more every year. But OVERALL, I drop a lot of BLs in general. We all have our preferences though.

Oh yeah, I can guess why they chose to do the scene without showing him again, but that's what the point of doing editing afterward in post production, they should have noticed in the editing process that the scene didn't work so well like that, pretty sure almost every viewer did not forget Lu Zhen was right there, and so it interfered with the emotional focus.

I was picturing him in my head sitting there giving those two the bombastic side eye like "Guy... I'm still here." 🤣

LOL episode 8 was LIT. Love the angst. Nice acting too.
Lu Zhen (Chen Jianyu) is soooooooooooooooooooo pretty.
Also, did Lu Zhen just dematerialize or teleport out of the room at the end? lol

Just bringing this back around since i recently found my dream casting for Xie Lian to go with my dream casting for Hua Cheng.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMVSsshWoAAcNSV?format=jpg&name=large
https://x.com/lyson_pain/status/1787884087631298778/photo/1
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G7AZcCoXIAAvVf8?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G7n0m_gXAAAB_CG?format=jpg&name=medium

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

But he didn't pick up all their full names, when he refers to them in the aftermath mentally or addresses the ones he does talk to who do not know who he is, it's only by first name. So whatever full names he gave them in his head don't count imo >;D

Yeah, true, different things resonate with different people. I don't remember the characters clearly, I just liked the one guy, the short one with the -_- face. I don't think he was a MAIN main character in AoT, but he had aura so he was more memorable for me. You ever watch Black Clover? That wasn't a bad anime...I didn't finish it either though, should probably get back to it sometime.

Top Form was not bad production wise imo, good budget, not bad acting. I didn't care much for either actor looks-wise, but the problem for me was the 'interest' factor was not high, I got bored very quickly. I always ask myself 'do I care what happens to this pairing in this show?' and if the answer is no, I dip.

I am not watching Burnout Syndrome XD I don't like any of the actors so I asked myself 'do I care what happens to the pairing/s in this show?' and the answer was a resounding no, so nah, not on my card. But enjoy!
"It's the only Thai BL I've found interesting this year (aside from Gel Boys). The directing, script, and acting are all really good. And the OST elevates every scene. " ~~ you basically just described how I feel about Shine, right down to Gel Boys. heh. Every You, Every Me and The Bangkok Boy weren't too bad either though, a nice deviation from the usual Thai output.

Haha I can believe you lowered your standards man because nope, not for me. It took me 3 business days to watch half of episode 1 of Heated Rivalry and I still didn't finish it, I dropped that show. I will not be returning. I just finished watching Twinless, a life drama lowkey LGBTQ film, which I was keen for for a while, and it was good, satisfied with that watch. I haven't watched any new BLs tbh, just watching TMS weekly and I finished The Wicked Game (worst production and sfx team ever, so bad, DaouOffroad deserved better) and I'm laboring (really struggling) my way through Me & Thee, just for Pond really, and for the occasional scene with Santa, (possibly will drop this too eventually the camp cheesiness is off the charts), but the BL you mentioned, Thundercloud Rainstorm, is on my PTW, so I'll get to it eventually.

Xia Zhiguang and Chen Feiyu are in this. I'm seated.

I think it can be explained in that Jiushi is supposed to be intelligent and observant and he'd lived in that area for many years. We can see people everyday and never know them, we may even bump into them, greet them and consciously forget them, but subconsciously we don't forget a face or we remember something about those interactions. For me that could explain why he dreamed so vividly filling in people visually.
Anyway, they made things ambiguous for the show but the book is much more concise and clear, adapting the novel for censorship made them alter it a lot. It was still a good show at least.

Nice catch of that flaw in #3. I'm a #1 choicer, so the whole thing buttons up that way for me.

7.5 best I can do for acting (80% of the time) and the story plot was far from the worst but WOW the production and sfx were so ass for this. I watched it for Daou and DaouOffroad though, made it to the end because of them. TWG is the least good of the BLs they've done though, so anyone new to this pair, do yourself a favour and watch their previous works.

Aw, I was really hoping Fan Xiao would fuck them both. What a waste, Lu Zhen is so pretty, man. Still entertaining though.

Side note: For the first time since I personally mentally recast Xia Zhiguang as a perfect live action Hua Cheng, I feel like Chen Jian Yu would be a perfect live action Xie Lian. Prior to seeing this actor I never thought of a suitable one for XL. Ah, in my dreams.

For right now since S03 is incomplete it's hard to say if it'll get worse or better. Ep6 tanked hard because the art was bad AND it was filler from the manga not compacted well, it should not have used up an entire episode, filler never should, but they did and so atm, OPM S03 is one of the worst rated anime seasons of all time LOL.

Most people view fiction stories through perspectives that align with their overall view of the world, that's why people will have different take aways. If the writers never one hundred percent make it clear, we're all left to speculate.

Hannigram is my #1 canon onscreen pairing, unique for sure. Bryan Fuller really gave us something beautiful.

AoT? Man, I can barely remember. I think after s01 I stopped, or maybe not, I think I watched part of s02, I can barely recall it was years ago. I think the main dude had been revealed as a titan? I might be misremembering, I could have seen he was revealed a titan somewhere on the internet lol Was that in S01 or S02? I think I might have lost interest because I didn't get attached to any of the characters. Generally if none of the characters are appealing to me (personality/looks/interesting story or plot) I just can't get into it.

YES, exasperating for sure, it's not looking good either for 2026, have you seen GMMTVs lineup? More budget, shittier scripts. I didn't think it was possible but holy fuck lol
Shine IMO is the best Thai BL to date. Thailand makes a lot of asinine shit (let's just say it, it is what it is), so when something is well done with a mature, proper story, I feel like it stands out. But while Shine is a great LGBTQ story with good acting/directing/cinematography/etc, the plot being politically based is what might lose a lot of viewers. I love it so much, it was like a Thai version of Fellow Travelers (also such a good show damn), so I enjoyed it very much. If you ever get back into it, I'd like to know what you think!

"I was just worried about infections LOL." ~~ I hear you, I hear you, I think about things in all series/movies that bother me like it's impossible to ignore. I still think about the fact that the dude left the tap running in the club bathroom in Unforgotten Night. I dropped that show after episode 1 but I never forgot that tap.... Actually the same thing happened in Hitman's Bodyguard, in my brain, that shower is still running. So yeah, trust, thinking about unsanitary sex scenariin shows lingers.
Did you drop Top Form, I did, I think it was the episode after the honey scene, it just lost me. Who's Rangga Jones? KP overall was below mid, I have no idea why it was raved about. I originally dropped it when it first aired because it was such a miss for me, one or two good scenes in there, and some decent acting, but the story was sooooo shite man. I went back and rewatched it again recently (skipping literally everything not related to MileApo) because after Shine I was finally able to appreciate Apo and Mile as actors. KP was, upon rewatch, still mid shite to me, was difficult but I managed to get through it the second time lol
"The BDSM aspect of Vegas and Pete's relationship made 50 Shades of Grey look revolutionary." ~~ this is a worse than any insult I could have come up LOLOLOL kudos

There has to be a balance of both for sure, or in some cases they should leave sex out entirely in some cases, like Dead Friends Forever and Mandate, both would have been SO MUCH BETTER without any sex.

The novel is very different, the entire premise is different so there will be some things that are explained and some things that are totally new, including additional doors and the uncensored relationship of the MLs. It's a good read :)

The ending of the novel is not related to the series at all. It's totally different.
The ending of the series has three main scenarios as of now:

1) Comatose Jiushi wakes up and everything was a dream, so he spends the next 50 years creating the virtual world he dreamed about so he can see everyone one he dreamed of.

2) Jiushi had entered a virtual game world, then he 'wakes up' back in his reality after having purified the game, and the virtual world ceases to exist. Lanzhu included, he ceases to exist as he states he would in ep 36. So he spends the next 50 years creating the virtual world he experienced and the people in it, as a comfort for his loss before he dies.

3) Everything that happens in the series happens inside a virtual world, and after the virtual world is purified, everyone from the real world who lived/died in the virtual world returns to the real world with all their memories wiped and they go back to their normal lives.

Which one do you feel most likely fits the series ending? You can decide.

If you want a more detailed answer about the difference you can let me know :)