Kannadin

To Sir with Love... That one is a bit more plot based. Very good show and very different from your usual Thai BL fare. Entirely available in English on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7RZWsVvvE1F8bsLopxugdTIqw6fwRQvt

There's an official playlist but for some weird reasons they haven't updated it past episode 4 so I made my own. Last episode of the previous week is usually available in English on Tuesday after the second episode of the week has aired. And the Monday episode usually get subtitled on Thursday.

You know... I hadn't thought about the : "these "ukes" always the bad guys. Implying that these "husbands" (aka men) don't do anything wrong and it is always the "wives" who do wrong. "

But now that you're mentioning it... I can't erase it from my brain... Could be on purpose.. could be unconscious on their part... We don't have the name of the writers which is too bad because we could have checked if it was on purpose by looking at their previous works.

Yeah that "wife" thing as well...

Seriously... I personally read my first BL manga more than 20 years ago... and the thing I really enjoyed at the time was that it showed different dynamics between characters.
Women in shoujo/josei manga were often portrayed as innocent, lacking in self confidence and in need of a man to give it to them because by some mysterious magic these men were able to see their inner strength or whatnot. There were some exceptions such as Hana Yori Dango, but they were far in between. Basically, the women were hero-worshiping their other halves who always assumed the role of protectors.

So what truly drew me in is that we didn't get that dominant/dominated vibe in the BLs I read. Obviously the industry has grown since then, and now there's this whole omega/beta/alpha business in which I found the same clichéd heterosexual dynamic I hated back then (don't start me on this).

To be fair, it's not something you see a lot in K-dramas but I found it's something really prevalent in Japanese romance. The man is always going to say some BS about protecting the woman or whatever, he would always lead, be the "top" or "seme" to use the Japanese term and the woman would always assume the "bottom" role or "uke" which is to follow. The man leads, the woman follows. HOW out-dated this is...

Anyway, I discovered Thai BL at the beginning of the year... Learning Thai was something I had on my bucket list and I needed some shows to get my ears used to the language. I didn't even know Thai BLs were a thing and I was amazed to discover how popular they are. I've got to say no matter how simple the plot, I do enjoy the fluffiness so I'm not complaining, but the "wife" term irks me to no end.

First as you said, these guys are men and while some characters may be portrayed as lady's boys unless they explicitly considers themselves as such, I find using that term pretty insulting.
The other reason is because it just feels like they're pushing that patriarchal mindset back into BLs which is truly unpleasant. "Wives" have certain roles and "Husbands" have others.

It's the 21st century guys. I understand it's Asia and in that area, well, it's still very much patriarchal but come on'! These shows are BLs which means it's OUT of society's patriarchal stupidity, out of Society's conventions and expectations. Why do Thai writers or scriptwriters bring these back in shows featuring only males is beyond me.

Still stuck at episode 11... Just started Love between Fairy and Devil and I'm hooked ( I started last June "The Untamed" but I'm struggling with that one). Love the costumes, the music and the universe... So with my currently airing BL shows + that one + a couple of K dramas here and there, and the occasional Anime and J Dramas... Hmm... It will be hard to pick up "War of Y" again especially since apparently everybody considers the 3rd story the weakest...

Well, think I'll binge episode 12 to 15 during the week to catch up and then will watch as it airs to avoid being stuck for another couple of weeks.

You can easily avoid adds on youtube by using Adblock, Adguard, ublockorigin or other webbrowser extensions. They're free. As for the rest, as you wish. You got the method now...

I explained the method below, just check former messages. I'm also using Nordvpn. I would advise you to use a double VPN connect to Taiwan via Hong Kong server #3 or #7 work well but apply the method I explained in a previous post. It's been posted less than 2 hours ago so you should be able to easily find it.

Advice: I had the same problem a couple of months ago. If you are living in Europe, most Thai series are not available on IQIYI.

1. Use a VPN, and once in the right region, you should get all popular series on the welcome page ( currently Love in the Air, Between US, My Only 12% and Big Dragon). I would advice using a private window so your web browser doesn't keep your cookies. It's available on Chrome and Firefox.

2. Create a new account using ONLY and I insist ONLY an e-mail address (other than the one you previously used for your other account). DON'T USE YOUR GOOGLE ACCOUNT and DON'T USE YOUR PHONE NUMBER. IQIYI uses it as a location reference and once you create your account with that information you're stuck with it no matter how many times you use a VPN. So MAKE SURE you are connected to a VPN when you register and pay in the local currency of the location you chose.

3. If you have problems connecting. Use the QR code with your phone. Make sure your phone VPN is connected to the same location and server, log in on your phone on the app and scan the QR code.

4. Pay for VIP with your credit card. Normally you should see the price in the currency of said location. I personally use a double VPN to get connected to Taiwan through Hong Kong and I paid in HK$. There's currently a 30% sale so I personally was able to extend my subscription to 2024.

To be sure there's no problem, make sure you always use a private browser when connecting to IQIYI.

That works well for IQIYI... But doesn't seem to work as well for we-tv. It's really annoying because just like on Viki, you can hardly use a vpn on the website, it works well on phones...
but not so well on computers.

If you're into Asian shows and you're in Europe. I would advise you to get Gagaoolala and Viki. Gagaoolala doesn't offer more shows if you're from another region so it's well worth getting the subscription.
I would also suggest getting IQIYI using the trick I just explain to you. The website works well.

However I wouldn't insist on We-tv. I used the monthly subscription for Love Mechanics and it was ok 'cuz it was available for everyone... But then couldn't watch Lovely writer so I used my IQIYI trick and the vpn just doesn't work most of the time. The videos have been taken away by an alien they say. which is truly infuriating because I just paid a yearly subscription with a new account. I'm literally fuming.

Anyway, the greatest BL shows are mostly on Gagaoolala and IQIYI... Viki is a bit late but Viki is more for K-dramas anyways.

Hope it helped. Subscribing on youtube is too expensive. Did that once, not gonna do it again.

Hmm... I personally think the show is good... But I'm not enjoying myself. I'm probably among the oldest audience on Mydramalist being older than 35... Meaning by that that I'm too old to get into that shipping business or whatever. For me actors are just doing a job and once the cameras are turned off, I honestly don't care about what they do with their lives. All that shipping and girls screaming and YouTube videos analyzing each and every gestures they do between themselves whenever the cameras are supposedly off make me really uncomfortable and I find all that business really disturbing.

Doesn't mean that I don't enjoy actors with good chemistry to act again together but I also think that actors are actors and BL actors should be allowed to:
1. Act with other actors/actresses, shipping be damned.
2. Act in series which are not BL focused.
From what you see in that industry, few actors have been able to take that jump so far. Most are stuck with the same partners playing romances after romances... And once they get older, will they still get roles or will they fade into oblivion? Because romance focused stories... is mostly for young actors. After the age of 40, whether you're a man or a woman you'll get less and less roles in the genre. These poor guys have to think about their careers.
3. If it's still BL, can we please start to give real stories with more layered plots with gay/lesbian characters? I'm thinking "Not Me" or currently airing "To Sir, with Love"

Anyway back to the main topic, while I understand you need shows that show the dark side of the industry... Well, I already know the world is a filthy place and my dramas are my safe space. I need my escapism and I'm not getting it here. While I empathize with them to a certain degree... I cannot like any of these characters.

The only exception so far was Nott in "New Ship" but again he was the least layered and least complex. The focus on the story wasn't him... otherwise they would have made sure he had some skelettons in his closet.

Had I know, I wouldn't have started it. It's not pleasant to see characters originally sweet and innocent basically stabbing people in the back and becoming douchebags because the world they evolve in is a pretty dirty place. I laughed a lot watching War of Managers because I just couldn't believe how seriously f***ed up they all were. None of these characters were likeable and the only likeable one ended up becoming as f***ed up as the others.... but getting punished for taking revenge on those who basically ruined him and being blamed by the original sinners who ganged up on him not even taking any responsibility for the situation. Talk about being unfair. Scr*** that sh**

Anyway, I'm currently stuck at episode 11. I'm probably going to finish this show and force myself watching it because I've invested too much time and I hate to drop shows once I've passed the middle mark but gosh... I'm so NOT enjoying myself.

So is it worth watching? Yes
Is it enjoyable? Depends on you.

My answer is a big NO. I get so little free time already and life is already hard enough, I don't need Tv to bring me back to reality when I'm trying to relax.
Also, got to watch it when you are in the mood... otherwise It's not gonna be a pleasant trip.

Well, that was my 2 cents.

We'll see... Right now I'm reaching the end of volume 2 and I start to get really invested... But I still don't know about the series... Well, maybe I'll give it a chance up to episode 30... But so far... I've got to say, I prefer the books.

Started this show last June... And I'm stuck at episode 21 and struggled to even get there. Can't seem to get into it at all. It was first Chinese drama to boot. It was so hyped that I actually bought the books. As far as the books are concerned... I do struggle with all the names but though there are not the greatest fantasy books I've ever read, I do find them entertaining. The focus on the story is on the Present and there's this underlying romance between Wang Ji and Wu Xian that keeps me in even when I'm not completely sold on all the intrigues. Though I've got to say, I started reading the series in July and I'm still reading the second volume as I'm typing this... and I'm a BIG reader. In spite of my busy schedule I usually gobble up a 500 pages book in less than a week... on top of that I'm used to read thick very thick fantasy books (over 1000 pages for some) which is telling. It's entertaining, but there's way better literature out there.

The drama though ...I'm on the verge of dropping this series to be honest. Lots of very good shows out there. I find it hard to make a decision because I already watched 21 episodes...
I'm glad I saw your comment though because it shows I'm not the only one who finds this show boring. Like you, I just can't care about any of these characters... Except Wu Xian maybe, but he's just not enough.

I'm giving myself up to the end of November to make a decision... I just don't want to drag that show up to 2023. Next time I try a Chinese show however, I'll stick to 35 episodes max. Wish they did like most Asian broadcasters and stuck to shorter length series.

Official playlist on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAxoWRRFwKM3reBKMiUFAl3BPw1omq-mH

(By UltimateTroops)

Dunno how to add the service and too lazy to bother. I'm watching it on Gagaoolala anyway but just for those who would like to watch the show legally. I doubt there's any scenes cut because each episode is pretty short. Anyway, don't care about the negative comments, I'm personally really enjoying that one. Though I wish the show would only focus on GolfGun and EmName.

Also, I totally get Gun... I was just the same when I was his age. He might no longer have acne but he's just excessively shy, at least when he had acne he had an excuse... Now he lied so that gives him a new excuse not to confront Golf and his feelings. There's comfort in maintaining the status quo and there's how others see you and how you see yourself which is very veeeeeeeeeery different.

Golf is this good looking dude and Gun is this very shy very awkward kid. This isn't overly confident Fiat guys, this is a very very awkward, timid and introverted Gun (note to people by the way: being introverted and being shy often goes hand in hand BUT is not always the case, you can be very introverted but not shy in the slightest).

They've also written each other letters for years... which means that Golf knows things about Gun that Gun might not have shared with him had he known he would fall in love with him... We've all shared things with close friends that we'd rather not make our love interest know. But their relation started off as friends... and now that Gun loves him, well... that complicates things.
On top of that, we don't know if Golf feels the same. Is it love or friendship on his side? So yeah. Gun is a coward... But I get you man. I get you. People might see this as ridiculous but I understand.

Last but not least, I really don't get why people are bothered by the "slow pace". Come on. Some shows are great to binge but slice of life ones usually don't fall in that category. Watching one episode per week is great + there's so many shows to watch, you barely realize that a week has passed that a new episode is uploaded.

I wish there were less shows, at least I wouldn't feel like I just can't keep up.

I don't really know if it makes more sense given he should already have gotten these pictures... BUT It's not google translate fault: 1st: handwritten Thai is not easy to decipher... I've been learning it for over 8 months now and I still struggle reading when the "circles" (which are often omitted on computer fonts) are not properly drawn...
2nd: All words are stuck together in Thai and it's handwritten Thai so they omitted what is "obvious" for the reader. For instance, instead of writing: "เมื่อวาน" or "เมื่อวานนี้" for "yesterday" it was written "วันวาน" (day - yesterday) which also means "yesterday" but is probably more familiar... and you can also find "วาน" for yesterday as well... which must be a nightmare for google translate I guess.

I got "To ask for Eiw's Picture of Yesterday's drama"
Typed it directly... I think it's pretty accurate given there's no picture of Eiw with his weird costume but who knows...

Same thing in France.

If I remember well you're at that point when you get to understand why Toh and Nuea are literally made for each other... Good luck with the pause button though :D

Dropped it at episode 2 because I couldn't handle the cringe either... But given the comments, I sucked it up for another episode. I don't know if it becomes less cringey because honestly the second hand embarrassment is god-awful... Can't watch it with somebody else in the same room, but I surprisingly got into the story by episode 3. I think it's a hit or miss. Either you get into it or you don't.
I think you should give the show a try up until episode 3 included and than make a decision. That's when the switch happened for me. Now I'm literally living for the cringe though I have to admit it takes me more than 1 hour to finish a single episode because I literally need to often pause.