-Aprillen-

I've checked with a bunch of different countries... No luck on iQiyi so far

April 23rd on Gagaoolala!

Yes, and there are a few other Japanese BLs coming up soon too, like "Living With Him" (no international platform yet) and "At 25 in Akasaka" (Gaga). And a BL anime called "Tadaima, Okaeri" (Crunchyroll). And two Korean ones, "Gray Shelter" and "Boys Be Brave". The latter will be on Viki, no idea about Gray Shelter. Let's hope there's one or two really good ones among those!

Yeah, all the Taiwanese BLs from VBL were mostly meh, but the first one (Stay By My Side) was slightly better, at least it was more interesting, with the supernatural stuff and the chemistry was pretty good too.

I Cannot Reach You was okay but very slow. Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun was not bad, but not spectacular either. Sukiyanen Kedo Dou Yaro ka was meh for me, I didn't really feel the chemistry. Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo was actually pretty nice, though also not spectacular. But I liked it. I've probably forgotten one or two. But the ones I mentioned before were the ones that stuck with me.

If you've watched the HK version of OL you know the backstory already, it was basically the same as the original Japanese series. It will be different actors (and names) for you in OLR but I'm sure you can figure out who is who. It's really crazy though, but very funny. IMO they kept all the good things from the first series and improved on everything else. And Haru and Maki (the MLs) are an established couple in this sequel and they are so adorable together, it's so rarely we get to see what a loving, committed couple looks like who have decided to make it work whatever life throws at them.

And the Japanese. I really loved Ossan's Love Returns (despite not liking the original) and also liked Taikan Yoho and Perfect Propose (though I watched the latter with fansubs, not the Gaga subs), and I'm loving Love is Better the Second Time Around, so far. Aside from that there's really only Unknown, which is super good. It's not like the other recent Taiwanese BLs at all (which I've also found to be pretty meh).

They've been kind of lacklustre lately, yes. The last ones I really liked were My School President, Moonlight Chicken and I Feel You Linger in the Air. The Thai version of Cherry Magic was actually very nice too.

Even stranger, how is he such a successful actor in Korea if he only speaks in Thai? It just doesn't make sense... It's not like in China where they routinely dub everything in post-production anyway

@Pepsicola I'm sorry too, I was replying to the discussion as a whole more than to you specifically, but also to what you said about your concerns about certain scenes in BL being targeted to the female gaze. You have a point, and I also find it unpalatable when they don't care about quality but just push boundaries gratuitously for the views and the money (especially when it's not clear how the young actors are treated in those dramas). It's not the nc scenes as such that make me uncomfortable, it's the context and how well they are integrated and played out, and whether they make *sense* in the storyline.

I also agree that it means we don't get many characters like Kenji in BL, but I'd like to argue that this is because Kinou Nani Tabeta is not actually a BL. It's more a slice-of-life drama where the main couple happens to be gay, so it explores some LGBTQ themes. But it's not a romance. I feel that many people (again, I don't mean you specifically) often forget an important factor when they criticise BL for being female-gazey and unrealistic/not representative of real people, and that is the fact that NO romance is realistic or representative of real people (at least for me, I find it very hard to identify with any characters in straight romance too). They are all idealised and, yes, formulated according to the female gaze, because the vast majority of the audience for romance (books, movies, dramas) is female, so it's not really strange that this would be true for BL too.

I agree with you that the BL industry is very often more concerned with selling thrills for girls/women than to accurately represent queer people. I just think that it's unavoidable to a certain extent. But it's also true that representation, and consideration for the realities of queer people, has become better in the past few years, at least in newer drama adaptations (though not all). And some BL producers and actors actively support LGBTQ rights even when they create products that will "sell". One example that comes to mind is how several Thai BL dramas (and at least one Japanese) in the past couple of years have explicitly talked about marriage equality, in a time when that has in fact been on the political agenda in Thailand (and is now very likely to become law quite soon).

BL has its flaws, and parts of the fandoms can be scary, but I also believe it can do some good when created mindfully.

I think that it's rather about *romance* on the whole being a genre that's consumed mainly by a female audience, which makes it more catered toward the female gaze. (I'm not talking about romantic subplots in other genres generally targeted toward a male audience, like e.g. action movies, because those have traditionally been very male-gazey, but about the romance genre in itself, which in my mind encompasses BL.)

This is not to say that the female gaze can't be toxic, it absolutely can be. But it will be different from similar stories written and performed by and for the male gaze. It will draw its inspiration, plots, characterisations etc. from themes that resonate more with a female viewer base. But if it's well done, it can transcend gender barriers. I know many queer people of all genders who enjoy watching BL because it tells cute, heart-fluttering stories about gay people falling in love and having a happily-ever-after, which may not be totally realistic... But then again it's not really all that realistic in straight romance stories either. You don't watch straight romantic dramas for the realism. That's not what romance is *for*.

Indeed, we can only hope that it will be easier for the Koreans to make longer, better, more ambitious BL dramas (or movies) going forward!

I guess that's why it's going to be a movie instead of a drama.
Also, BL dramas in Korea don't get very big budgets either. It's still too conservative there and they have a hard time finding sponsors.

Sadly the actors have no say in that matter.
Korea, huh, that's an interesting take. But I think Taiwan is the most likely country. They share language and culture with China, after all.

At first I felt that the added storyline with the two older brothers was unnecessary, but it served as a good backdrop to show that Taeyi had finally let go and started healing. I wish they hadn't glossed over Taejun's illness as much they did, though—they could have made it clearer that it was the depression that took his life and not Seheon's brother's rejection, even if that might have been a triggering factor. But depression in itself really is bad enough. But maybe they felt it was too heavy a subject to delve into for the intended audience.

I'm also not sure about the violent gay panicking; that was uncomfortable to see. It was echoed in all three pairings as well. But maybe it can be seen as a point of hope that the younger brothers could get past it, when the older ones could not.

They really took the original manhwa and *improved it*. Not that there's anything wrong with the manhwa, but the changes really made it work as a coherent story in the drama adaptation. I like that they added so much more music, considering they're in an arts high school. That was something that I felt was missing from the manhwa.

More spoilery comments in the reply below.

Trailer for the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbAQGADK76U

I guess? It depends on who is making the movie, and also on whether the original drama actors are even interested. If another country (say Taiwan or Thailand) makes it, they might adapt it to their own setting since it's a modern story to begin with. I don't think anyone knows at this point, so this is all speculation. We'll just have to wait and see what happens...

Will also be on Gagaoolala:
https://twitter.com/gagaoolala/status/1772186673796809063

I keep forgetting about Unknown because it's really in a class of its own, it's so good

SaYe now has an overseas movie license (non-Chinese mainland). So we might not get this drama, but a movie, with uncensored content. https://twitter.com/BLUPDATE2022/status/1770700716627173856

This is probably the best BL that's currently airing. I'm loving it and the chemistry is *sizzling*