Khaleesiofthegreatdairys

I reply again because I found another BL that is based in some kind of reality. The Eight Sense is a solid show from what I can tell. I'm only halfway through but the characters are written like actual people you might know. The friendships are also sweet and I'm charmed by at least three of the side characters.

The main love story reminds me of the college couple from the Mexican movie, Four Moons. The college couple in Four Moons share a lot of looks when they're with their friends but don't talk openly about their relationship until one of them decides he doesn't want to be in the closet anymore. I don't know if that's where The Eight Sense is going, so I will have to stay tuned.

Oh, don't worry. I have been busy myself. I have been a nanny for my sister's baby and getting more ESL work on websites. I've not watched any more BL since and only a few episodes of The Sopranos! I have rewatched more Law and Order SVU and other things like Xena Warrior Princess. 🙃

I didn't forget. I kept this message on my browser for 2 months. I don't remember the other characters in Until We Meet Again besides the main couple and their families. I forgot that there was even a side couple. And yes, couples who are on the same level and support each other really should be the bare minimum of writing a "good" couple but a lot of BL don't reach that standard.

Theory of Love really charmed me because they did that Dawson's Creek thing of obvious and loving tributes to various movies. ToL also had a cute side couple. I have a lot of affection for Dawson's Creek. It might be time to watch another BL. I've been mostly rewatching Law & Order SVU and not watching The Sopranos even though it's on my list and I've watched a season and a half.

ITSAY and it's sequel, I Promised You the Moon, are great because they're realistic. The pacing does make it hard to get through though. I struggled with finishing it and I almost love it. I would watch the non-dialogue parts at 1.5 speed. That BL series also has themes.
A lack of themes is why a lot of TV shows are movies are so empty and boring.
I also liked the Buddhism stuff in Until We Meet Again. It's interesting to me in an anthropologist kind of way. Also the overall messages of "life is an endless cycle" and "there's always the chance to make it right" did honestly move me. How everyone was effected and changed by the past couple's suicide was handled really well.
The couple in UWMA was not great, I can agree with that. Or rather the post-suicide couple were a real downgrade compared to the per-suicide couple. With the boys from the past, I could understand why they were together but the modern couple are together because they were in a past life. Lame. "Magic, destiny, soul-mates," those are buzz words people use when they don't want to actually write a romance story.
What does "Between Us" have to do with anything? I am confused. I have not watched that show. Also haven't watched My Engineer. What makes that show good?
For Trapped, I definitely believed in the couple. I also liked the mystery surrounding the story.
Another show I liked was Theory of Love. It's been a long time at this point so I can't remember all the reasons I liked it . I did like how they referenced movies and then the show played out scenes very similar to those movies. I like thinly veiled references, what can I say?

I Told Sunset about You is probably the best Thai BL I've seen. The pacing of the first series is a little slow but the characters are well written, the story is believable, and the cinematography is gorgeous. The sequel series, I Promised You the Moon is better paced.
Until We Meet Again has a charm to it. It does deal with homophobia a bit, which is rare in these shows. It's not great but I do appreciate that there are actual themes in the show.
History 3: Trapped was pretty cool. The relationship was well developed and the love of the main leads was believable.
I'm sure there were others, but it's been a while since I really thought about BL series.
Sorry for the late reply. We could maybe chat on an IM if you'd like.

I Feel You Linger in the Air is better constructed than these shows usually are, so yeah, it's worth a watch if you're into BLs. As I said, there were cool/interesting things about it. I didn't feel like I wasted my time.

Most BLs are disposable nonsense because the people behind them don't really care about piddling things like character, theme, and a strong narrative through line. Most of these shows are just two hot Asian Ken dolls being smooshed together. I'm not being mean when I say that. Most people love mindless, shallow entertainment of some stripe or another. There are intelligent BL shows that do reflect some kind of emotional reality and portray something that might actually happen in the real world but those are few and far between.

You mean BLs were the gay romance was less interesting than the other things going on? The other one for me was Peach of Time. I don't remember that well since it wasn't that memorable but the side story about the other ghost and his old girlfriend's daughter was more impactful, in my opinion.

Also since writing this I think I Feel You Linger in the Air is another example. The main BL romance was... fine but after they got together, they stopped being even a little interesting. I was way more invested in the lesbian couple and wanted to know more about the characters in the underground 1920s gay culture. A story about either one of those things would have been cooler.

I know Thai BL isn't high art or anything but I am annoyed when good or even great story ideas are left on the table or made into a dangling plot thread because they think fujoshi just want to see hot boys make out.

Now that I think on it, I don't know why they got together. They're hot and attracted to each other and I guess that's enough. Romance writers often forget you need to actually write the romance part, which is why I don't often like romance stories.

Pfft. I don't agree with everything you say, but the part about Tan and Bun and the end is funny because it's true. Bun was rightly angry and upset after he learned that Tan manipulated him and sent That to scare him nearly to death but then Tan gets beat up in prison and Bun no longer cares about all that? I thought that the show was actually going to have Tan work to earn Bun's forgiveness and trust, but nope. Also Bun just gets over that Tan handcuffed him to that stair railing like it was nothing. And really Tan needing to earn Bun's love should have happened because after Tan gets out of jail, Bun and Tan's relationship is so boring. They're together and cute. Aww! Who cares. There's no tension or conflict between them moving their characters or the plot forward.

This is now the second BL I've seen where the gay romance is the least interesting thing about it.

I am glad that they had Peach and Yoon Oh part and that they didn't romanticize codependency, as is the case in many romance series.

I think that Yoon Oh and Peace's relationship was the least interesting part of this show.