Liltsu

I wrote this analysis for fun and just wanted to share so here it is :)


As you probably know already, this series is a type of fictional documentation of the BL industry, and how the actors and industry professional are queer baiting their fanbases and profiting off of shipping culture (male actors pretending to be a couple in series that they star together in). There is also a lot of stereotyping within that where the assigned couples are typically presented as one being the “uke” and the other being the “seme”, which is harmful to the queer community. On top of this, there is widespread homophobia wherein the very same people who produce lgbtq series will not hire openly lgbt people out of prejudice, and will only pick “straight”-passing actors. This was depicted in the famous BL called Lovely Writer. War of Y is interesting in the sense that it presents more complex, deconstructed characters who are flawed and morally grey. The protagonist, for instance, is insincere toward others, particularly those whom he can benefit from and cruel to those whom he considers rivals. An extremely selfish but human character that isn’t demonized. Rather, we understand that his behaviour stems from his insecurities and self-consciousness (most importantly, the lack of family support and fear of abandonment), yet the series does not romanticise nor justify his behaviour regardless, as we see how this character ends up hurting those around him. Lovely Writer could have improved in this area (having more complex, developed characters).

Now, for the sexualisation of mlm, which is a thriving issue in BL, is an interesting topic to analyse with this series (up to the recent episode, number 3). Whilst the series does criticise the fact that “ships” are for pretend and there is explicit homophobia that is present in the industry, it is a bit suspect about its presentation of sex. By this, I mean how a lot of BL series have sexual scenes in them and how outsiders often dumb down this representation to fetishisation which is something that this series should aim to call out or avoid perhaps given its message. Yet, whenever the main characters in this series act for their roles, we are shown a sex scene and this can take up a lot of time in the episode, almost even more so (in total) than the footage outside of it (maybe I am exaggerating but it is shown very frequently and it takes up a lot of the run time).

What it risks doing then is reinforcing the idea that gay relationships are only about sex. Why don’t they have the characters act out scenes that are more dialogue-focused? Or highlight a certain facial expression or emotion (I’m thinking of, for example, one of the characters acting out their role in an emotional scene and the other character noticing that his emotions seem real/not an act, then discussing that afterwards)?

Why are they always sexual? Sure, I was impressed, or relieved perhaps, by the love scene where one of the actors was having flashbacks mid-scene to his own life, and moments spent with his co-star, reflecting how his feelings toward his partner are becoming romantic. With that in mind, I could also argue that the scenes that the characters play out are supposed to reflect the development or state of their own relationship with each other in “reality”. In that respect, if it continues in that route, it would be great as it would move away from presenting bl series as only being about sex and hopefully offer a more in-depth look into queer romance. The issue I would have then is that if the relationship between the characters themselves is then established as romantic but that they continue filming sex scenes, then I’d remain sceptical of their decision to do so.


What could reverse that, however, is if the characters themselves point this out in the narrative (something like: “why are all our scenes NC? There is more to gay people than that”). Then again, you could also say that that’s the point even if none of the characters mention it. That the relationship between the characters (that will hopefully evolve into something more emotional) is supposed to clash with the image that they present in their roles in the series.


What gets in the way of this is that the characters seem to enjoy their sex scenes, and therefore the sexualisation of their roles, of the bond in the series they represent. That’s the problem. There needs to be a clear distinction between the “real” lgbtq couple that the main characters reflect and the fetishist, sexualised version that the characters play as actors. It needs to show that harmful effect but it seems to embrace it instead. It’s fine that the main characters themselves started off as sex friends, in fact I am satisfied with that choice in the narrative as it would make sense for co-stars to either not have a relationship or for it to be purely sexual (plus with the other ML mentioning that he also has other sexual partners), which it was. This is more realistic (especially because the characters have to partake in such scenes together). The characters developing feelings for each other later on is therefore more naturally presented in my view. Lovely Writer, for example, for a little bit more of a fantasy, with how the characters loved each other pretty much from the get-go (tho it was reasonable as they were childhood friends, so they knew each other before even entering the industry). In War Of Y, it was touching when the protagonists’ co-star comforted him when he was crying, and that the characters are still rivals who misunderstand one another.


In fact, I thought it was clever that their relationship progressed in the way it did. How it usually goes is that the main leads would dislike one another from the get-go, then would warm up to each other by learning more about them, particularly stuff that draws out pity from the other. So if War Of Y was structured differently, it could have easily been: they’re rivals and hate each other, they learn to trust each other a bit more through their acting, the other lead learns about the protagonists’ family situation (the homophobia and his father’s condition, plus the grooming from the higher ups etc.), the other lead would become more understanding and protective, they’d start to love each other, some random conflict is introduced like another love interest, drama, then they sort things out and they have their happy ending.


This isn’t the case here. The progression of their relationship is interesting. They first started off as sex friends/professional partners. This makes a lot of sense to me despite the protagonists’ insecurities (that leads him to consider everyone as a rival). The reason is that, despite being a colleague in the same industry as him, the protagonist does not perceive his love interest as a threat due to the nature of the BL pairing system. In other words, until now, the protagonist (Pun) most likely considered his colleague as an extension of himself, an “us against the world” perception as the two compete together as a “couple” and are pinned against the others rather than the opposite. Moving on, from being sex friends, and having exposure to each other, the second male lead developed feelings for the lead, and after he comforted Pun when he was most vulnerable (and after witnessing his family situation yet still accepting him), Pan started to have such feelings too. Now romantic feelings are present on both sides, and they have confessed this to each other. However, a romantic relationship hasn’t been officially established. Yet, at this critical moment, Pun learns that his partner just got the position that Pun wanted for himself (and this is not something that the other ML knew about). This is the moment that pulls the trigger for Pun, as he realises, probably for the first time, that his partner is in fact a rival in the end.


We haven’t seen it yet, but based on the preview, Pun will put a distance between them and will start showing his partner the more selfish and cruel side of him (the same side that he would show to those who don’t benefit him or whom he is jealous of). This is where it gets interesting, the information that would have made the 2nd male lead have sympathy for the ML at this stage, which could have turned things around, has already been revealed. This means that the protagonist is going to hurt his love interest and will have to take accountability for himself, without relying on plot devices to save him. He will have to apologise and take responsibility for his actions. He will need to grow, without it being forced out of him with the help of an ML that will crawl back to him after learning about his insecurities. The other ML knows all of this already, all his weak points, and not only that, he has already expressed his awareness of this toward Pun, and has embraced him and told him he loved him regardless. And it’s not like Pun has been denying this either, he understood and embraced this support from his love interest, but is going to discard him regardless.


This is a wonderful chance at showing character growth that doesn’t require the love interest’s assistance or other non-conscious events that make the character do things for him. Pan is on his own now. He needs to think back on himself, cast his inferiority complex aside, learn that his worth isn’t reliant on his professional success as an actor, and understand how his behaviour hurts others and pushes them away from him. He needs to learn for himself and change. Otherwise he will suffer and will be alone in the end, as people won’t stick around someone so insincere and neglectful, except perhaps for the very same type of people who can profit off of him. Pan doesn’t want this, he may think and is willing to sacrifice himself to some extent to achieve his goals, but this is taking a toll on him (as can be seen from his mental breakdown in the bathroom and the scene where he faints). Change is needed. The way War of Y portrays the last half of the story of this couple is pivotal in establishing a difference between a series that tries to be “woke” yet falls back on the very same cliches it tries to criticise and a series that effectively reflects the issues within the BL industry uniquely as intended.

I am still somewhat skeptical of how many sexual scenes it uses, especially in the manner in which it's presented but I can see that there is also more depth in this. I'm just contemplating how they will portray the other couples' stories in the series because i would find it unrealistic if all of the characters playing actors were to be in relationships. The reason is that it would defeat the point of the series. The series intends to show some aspect of reality about the BL industry and supposed to particularly critisice how the industry uses their actors to pretend to be a couple, pretend to be gay or lgbtq. That's one of the many issues, so if all of the characters end up being in relationships, it almost makes it seem like the industry is not wrong in doing this because in the end these "fake" couples are indeed "real". And this is just not the case in real life.

But yeah, to anyone who read this far, thank you so much! What are your thoughts?

Yes it’s really so needed, in fact the whole show pretty much is a metaphor for being queer in our society (the authorities rejecting anyone who does not conform, those who don’t conform protesting to be accepted for their identities)

They are haha i meant the characters in the story, some of them struggle with their identity, not sure if you were replying to me or someone else <3

Oh nooo djfkfjke T^T ik what you mean, the names do sound similar haha

Khanlong's internalised homophobia/struggle with his identity:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNnEx2Mo/

Such an intruiging character

Hihi seems like it, it’s nice ^^

That’s totally fair for cutie pie, it just wasn’t my cup of tea for me and it had the kind of flaws that bothered me more (like the romanticised power dynamic and manipulation which was just seen as innocent possessiveness or jealousy, but we all nitpick at different types of flaws in shows so ik that maybe this didn’t bother you for ex). What I did like tho was that at the end that protagonist did revert back to his authentic self so that was a relief and a good decision (because he didn’t really show that side of himself for a long time)

Yesss kinnporsche is top tier, i genuinely became so much more critical about new shows now that i have finished (and I was already getting more critical after Not Me and Kamisama No Ekohiiki)

Imao that’s hilarious, it’s a shame for the actors too. I feel like the production companies think they need to make something dramatic or a complicated plot but really, if they’re not amazing at these things they should stick to simpler plots and try to make it charming in a non-confusing, or misleading way. Like with Bad Buddy, it had a typical BL plot but it knew that and used it to its own advantage and that’s why it’s great

You’re solidifying the fact that i would never continue Check Out sjfhdkjfef. See some of those things would be alright even interesting even if it was presented in a poignant way but from what I saw of it, it’s romanticised and just awkwardly executed so I’d imagine it feels like a waste of time watching it. Like with kinnporsche, the themes are heavy and delve into some morally grey stuff but the series does an amazing job in redeeming or at least reflecting those aspects in a thought-provoking manner

Thank you ^^
Ouh you have excellent taste yourself, i like all of the ones you mentioned though I feel off about cutie pie (I’m quite critical of that one tbh). I always forget to mention We Best Love but it’s great, especially the 2nd season which is unusual

Ouh, as for my top favourite BLs, I would say that I have quite a few different ones, and not necessarily the most mainstream either. For series I would say: Kinnporsche, Favouritism of the God (or Kamisama No Ekohiiki), Not Me, Lovely Writer and Word of Honor (I’d also add Utsukushii Kate actually, otherwise also called My Beautiful Man). For movies, I’d say: HIS, Itsuka No Kimi e, and Sei No Gekiyaku
PS: forgot to include HIStory 3: trapped (I have too many clearly)

As for series that are (not really for some but still) guilty pleasures: Fish upon the sky, Addicted/Heroin, Advanced Bravely ig

Late reply sorry! And no no it’s hilarious haha you’re very upfront which is endearing in its own way. I can see how UN could be a guilty pleasure for you haha since it’s totally alright to critically think negatively a show but enjoy some parts of it. It was the case for me at first with UN because of the « good boy » thingy, as he said it so softly and with consent, which was also unexpected.

As for Check Out, I swear I watched the first 15 minutes then dropped it because I could tell it was going to be badly written, and the spoilers I got from reviews only affirmed that so I totally get what you mean. The thing is that many people were expecting a lot from this series ever since the trailers and stuff but I never really thought much of it tbh. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many shows and am interested in editing but nowadays I can usually tell from the trailer already (or at least the first few minutes of a series in the case where the trailer was mismatched) if I’ll like it or not, or how good the quality will be both for the storyline and execution of scenes. So my first impression of Check Out wasn’t that good in the first place. Ofc I don’t want to judge too quickly so i do usually give a few episodes a chance but the first few minutes of Check Out already told me everything i needed to know

VegasPete being my comfort bl couple:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNtMFyYG/

Djhdhd i wrote that comment fully expecting you to disagree with most but to see that you agreed with pretty much all of them is hilarious esp when you rated Unforgotten Night even lower than me (i thought I was being harsh) 💀💀. Anyway, that's really cool actually that we share similar opinions (also dont watch Love Stage, its such a mess and i had seen the anime so i knew what i was in for)

Yes of course 😊
I basically rated these shows in my third part:
-not me: 10/10
-love stage: 4/10
-eight point two seconds: 7.5/10
-unforgotten night: 2/10
-star in my mind: 7/10

💜💕

Rating bl dramas (cause this show deserves more)

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNG5d7EG/

Rating bl dramas from this year (sorry guys)

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNG5d7EG/

Rating bl dramas from this year:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNG5d7EG/

Rating bl dramas from this year (included Not Me 👀)

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNG5d7EG/

I totally get that, and its frustrating to me too but i feel like that shouldnt take away from the rating of the content itself, as its more so a pr issue rather than an issue with the story itself

I'm curious about why you dont think it's that good? It seems pretty solid to me so far (tho it could be better in some areas id agree, plus the non-translated messages, but i still find the rating too low)