BL Compilations

Thai romcom

Overall: this is the epitome of a Thai romcom. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel, playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI72NwYDLdpMM17t-B-9BvTB&si=1Jdv5bf4kpg-sShr ; later re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40694c-only-boo

Content Warnings: held against will, harassment, past death, non con video taking/sharing/unwanted public outing, manipulation

What I Liked
- clear premise
- a few central characters
- cute moments
- supportive friends
- Kang's supportive mom and that Moo's mom was smart and saw thru him (not a fan of how Moo's mom later though)
- briefly addressed a downside of shipping culture

Room For Improvement
- wish Kang had shown Moo some interest instead of showing distaste and then turning his back to show the viewer that he enjoyed Moo's flirting for the first 5 episodes
- after a clear rejection in an episode, I wanted Kang to be the one to approach Moo but unfortunately it was once again Moo
- comedy sound effects were excessive and detracted from the comedy
- cliche/not needed angst towards the end (to avoid this you can stop watching at episode 10 part 2, 10 minutes and start it again at episode 12 part 2 at 4 minutes
- a CEO suddenly changed his mind felt like 'because the writer said so'
- the time jump and then a voice over exposition dump at the end of the series
- could have condensed the series for faster pacing

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wish it was told in chronological order

Overall: I was intrigued with the set up, but felt disconnected from the romance because it was not told in chronological order and the plot dragged at times. 11 episodes about 45 min each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/interminable-episode-1-15snedolols?lang=en_us (spoiler for the ending under a spoiler comment)

Content Warnings: past (murders, suicides, violence, blood, held against will, unwanted public outing, slap, manipulation); current (attempted murder, near suicide, manipulation, sexual harassment/assault, drugging, near murder, beaten up, death)

Watch Suggestions (to focus on the romance, in approximate chronological order)
- episode 1 watch 15:45-19:40
- episode 2 watch 7:30-9:35
- episode 3 watch 23-25:40
- episode 4 watch 25-28
- episode 6 watch 37-45:10
- episode 7 watch the beginning to 11:25, 12:45-15:15, 16:20-18:45, 22-29:48, 32-35:55
- episode 8 watch 34-42:30 and 46-49:20
- episode 9 watch 28:40-31
- episode 10 watch 13,15-14.45
- episode 11 watch 36-40:30
- episode 12 watch 4-11:25
- episode 12 watch 23-24:30

1947
- start episode 3 at 30 minutes and end at 51
- episode 4 watch 17:30-20, 43-49:15
- episode 5 watch 36-40
- episode 12 watch 59-1hr 1min 20 (or can watch until the very end for another time jump but I think it's better before the time jump)

What I Liked
- historical eras (1912 past, 1947 present)
- styling
- mystery element
- a supportive female character

Room For Improvement
- the biggest difficulty for me was I couldn't connect to the romance because we just kept seeing small little snippets of their relationship in the past instead of the full development of their past relationship. Then we spent such a long time in the past that I couldn't connect to the present 1947)
- had a slow start and dragged, then the finale went really fast
- the odd grunting in ep 5
- multiple love triangles
- wannabe evil wife cliche
- a character in the past was way too pushy and ignored boundaries multiple times
- a character almost always wore shorts and suspenders so he looked child-like in 1947
- in 1947 they made an odd choice but at least the couple talked about things
- side couple went nowhere
- the political drama was resolved off screen

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awesome styling with some lackluster writing

Overall: the writing was not what I hoped for, but I still enjoyed the different premise. 14 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/the-next-prince-episode-1-1bv2jjiv65o?lang=en_us ; 1st episode cut on YouTube (not in Japan or South Korea) https://youtu.be/5wUsrm8lZcI?si=_ZOtV42qRgEUm8Ia

Content Warnings: past deaths, manipulation, fights, blood, dub con kissing , slap, violence, child abuse, sexism, attempted murder, murder/deaths, torture

Watch Suggestions (to focus on the romance and less politics/competitions)
- watch episodes 1 and 2
- episode 3 watch 33:40-37:40 and 48-51:30
- episode 4 watch 8:30-9:40, 16-17:50, 22:50-23:45, 32:50-33:50, 42:30-45:30 and 48:30-49:45 (also extra scene after the end credits)
- episode 5 watch 29:50-31 (I'm conflicted about this scene) and 45-end
- episode 6 watch beginning-5, 8-21:45, 25-26:55, 38:15-39:30 and 42-end
- episode 7 watch beginning-11, 1hr3-end
- episode 8 watch beginning-27, 30:10-33:50, 34:35-35:50, 43-58
- episode 9 watch 22-28
- skip episodes 10-12
- episode 13 watch 43-47:15
- episode 14 watch 26-end (you could watch the fencing at the beginning if wanted)

What I Liked
- dynamics/chemistry
- enjoyed the beginning fight sequence in episode 1
- commentary on gender roles/sexism and environmental justice
- Chakri
- kissing/intimacy
- production value* (i.e. set design, styling)

Room For Improvement
- started with a world building exposition dump
- a ton of nonsense plot stuff: a dad didn't show any anger about being lied to about something, no bodyguards around protecting royalty, a very long hold in episode 4, nonsense plan in episode 4 (should have known dad would know what he did), a bunch of people perfectly spaced on a field in episode 12 and a lot more
- a character acted like a privileged brat for too long
- wish we would get a sane, safe and consensual BDSM relationship, I guess their ending was okay
- not enough of the side couples/relationship development, felt shoe-horned in
- *the camera was too shaky, wanted more stable shots

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good premise with flawed execution

Overall: I'm rating it a bit higher though because of the unique premise and that I couldn't tell how this was going to end unlike pretty much every other BL I've seen. Watching on iQIYI.

Content Warnings: multiple deaths, blood, dub con kissing and sex? (drunk), stalking, past domestic abuse

What I Like
- some cute moments, especially towards the end
- some funny moments
- sick people actually looked sick (i.e. didn't have flawless make up and hair)
- showed how doctors/medical staff do get sad/stressed
- good communication between Tua and Prakan in the final episode
- the ending before the final time jump
- (neutral) the accidental fall/tropes, it's cringey but I still like them

Room For Improvement
- immature and stupid characters, also some really bad communication skills
- nonsense medical things (pretty sure you don't operate on your family members)
- at one point we end up in an endless loop rehashing the same plot points over and over again
- major plot holes, some of which could have been explained with a short dialogue
- Metha was annoying almost the entire series
- poor communication with the m/m side couple but seemed like it only lasted a day or two
- three couples all had rushed romantic endings, at least one should have developed earlier on
- the awful camera angles during kissing scenes
- slow pacing most of the time, watched on a faster speed
- the ending, too many time jumps = poor writing and that very end part was not my thing at all

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fantastic chemistry with some flawed writing/editing

Overall: an obsessed character I was rooting for, but I wish they had not used AI (it appeared they took out the AI for the final flashback scene perhaps due to feedback). Aired on Youku https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPaeoMTI75s

Content Warnings: murders/deaths, manipulation, kidnapping, beaten up/violence, non con kissing, suicide (shown episode 9 33:45-34:45

What I Liked
- chemistry & dynamic
- intimacy
- mystery
- a character was pretty good at his job
- Leuk To's character growth (I.e. ep 9 "I just want him to be safe")

Room For Improvement
- too much AI usage
- I understood a character was upset, but he did not need to ghost for that long
- nonsense stuff (no way that stopped a bullet, no one suspicious with a lack of blood, etc)
- love rival, could have cut that whole part out to focus more on the relationship
- how they cut the kiss at the end

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An interesting plot ruined by choppiness/too broad scope

Overall: There was so much potential in this story, but the scope was too broad and the sequencing was jumpy/confusing. It is based on a short film which I also found confusing (it was like an art film).

Content Warnings: non con/dub con*, 2 punches, past trauma (kidnapping, maybe molestation? shown off screen)

What I Liked
- acting is good, the 1 actor switches well, the glasses help distinguish them
- production value is good
- music is nice

Room For Improvement
- *does this mean that Yu Shi has the mental age of a 5 year old? And they had sex together??? Ummm, I'm not a doctor and don't have any friends with this medical condition but that seems ethically wrong.
- a big issue is the choppiness/not knowing what was going on most of the time. Finally in the 3rd episode (of 4 episodes) we get some brief explanations for things (but he was just randomly attacked, when did the 1 month flashback end?) however, it still leaves a lot to be desired. Even at the very end, I wasn't sure what the 1000 day thing was until after they got home and it was more clear.
- I was disappointed at the resolution with Noah
- the doctor was super unethical, I don't think doctors can share medical information with non-relatives/spouses. Also later his boyfriend looks at a patient's chart/notes. I think Noah could have been the one to explain the situation earlier to Wu Zheng.
- the side couple was totally unnecessary, they came out of nowhere in the final episode with a few sentences about the cliched miscommunication and spending years apart
- once again we have a female character just thrown in to cause drama, she was totally not needed to the story, there's enough drama that could come along with dissociative identity disorder
- I dislike punches/slaps between romantic partners or really anyone unless in self-defense

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watch at least thru episode 3 (watch suggestions)

Overall: I was not impressed with the plot or characters in episode 1, but I enjoyed seeing their different perspectives and them struggling with what was holding them back. Unfortunately, the ending felt rushed. The special episode didn't change my thoughts on this series in either direction. This is based on "Eul's Love" which I haven't read and I reviewed this series on its own merits. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each. Note there are sometimes important extra scenes after the initial end credits. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41031c-business-as-usual ; GagaOOLala (not in the Americas, Europe, Oceania, Japan or South Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5233/business-as-usual-2025-e01 ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/tt9j6o0418 ; Line TV in Taiwan ; Rakuten TV in Japan ; Heavenly in South Korea

Watch Suggestions (to skip a lot of poor communication, have it be in chronological order and focus more on the leads' sweet moments)
- episode 2 watch 6:30-20:30 (past)
- episode 3 watch 4:15-16:25 (past)
- episode 1 watch beginning-4:45 (past)
- episode 3 watch 22-2nd (present)
- episode 4 watch 3:30-4:10 and 11-end (present)
- episode 5 watch 9:40-13:35 and 15-22:40 (present)
- episode 6 watch 21-end (present)

What I Liked
- intimacy in episodes 1 and 5
- sweet moments/their relationship development in the past
- how they each saw the same situations very differently, I don't think that a character saying he couldn't remember a phone call was gaslighting, sometimes we don't remember things the same or remember them at all compared to another person, this isn't always intentionally malicious/gaslighting
- appreciated the realistic bed head in episode 5
- production value

Room For Improvement
- disliked plot drama where a 5 minute conversation would have cleared everything up, very cliche plot point in episode 1
- what happened around 11-12 min in episode 1 was too long (keeping this spoiler free for now), should have been 1/4th of that
- episode 6 was extremely rushed, wish they actually hadn't shown the final scene because going into my next point...
- I am not convinced that they will be in a long term happy relationship, though Kim Min Jun recognized his insecurity, he basically admitted that it would cause problems in their relationship in the future. I think his insecurity will destroy their relationship at some point.

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lackluster vertical micro series

Overall: 40 total episodes for about 1hr 15 minutes runtime (a little under 2 minutes per episode). Episodes 1-10 are free to watch on the Alwayz Shortdrama YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNSRcn2apDarHe7Tml51AIxwuqIE1SAO7&si=RWE6BtHqjZdxkdSV - on Dec 6th I watched all 40 episodes for free with a special livestream https://www.youtube.com/live/zNQiDd3UiY0 ; March 14th it was released on the Shortime app https://shortime.app/en/content/cb1f4cf (my referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.) It was later released on the iQIYI app and GagaOOLala which have several BL verticals.

Content Warnings: past suicide, grief, mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, near suicide

What I Liked
- caring moments such as first aid, piggyback ride
- good kissing
- that 1-10 are free on their YouTube channel and they did give a short window to watch all episodes for free instead of needing to download their app

Room For Improvement
- love triangle
- slow pacing
- didn't feel connected to any characters or their relationships with each other
- too many flashbacks
- night scenes needed more light on the actors' faces
- the band aids were much more distracting than whatever they were covering (scars, freckles, tattoos)
- the pool was so shallow that characters could all stand in it and yet a character said "how did you get to me, oh you swam"
- ending left something to be desired, after being so determined to do something a character seemed to make a strong 180 turn

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dancing and romance with some serious parts

Overall: there are aspects I really enjoyed about the series such as the ex and how it was handled, but there was a very jarring part at the end of episode 7. Based on a book with the same title which I haven't read and I am reviewing this series based on it's own merits. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on Let Me Into Your Heart YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAtoaKETK9k

Content Warnings: vomiting (episode 4 part 3), murder, blood and grief (episode 7 part 4)

Watch Suggestions (to focus on the main m/m couple and side m/m couple sweet moments)
- watch episode 1 all parts for the set up
- watch 2/3 beginning-7:45
- watch 3/1 if you enjoy watching dance
- watch 3/2 beginning-7:30
- watch 3/3 3:20-5:10 and 8-end
- for episode 4 stop part 4 at 9:30
- watch 5/2 and 5/3
- watch 6/1 9:50-end
- watch 6/4 beginning-3:15
- watch 7/2 10:45-end (is emotional but explains some things)
- watch 8/3 5:30-end
- watch 9/4 3:20-8
- watch all of episode 10

What I Liked
- the costume/dance aspect
- clear premise
- non cliche ex, and another non cliche love rival
- Jack was mature about things in episode 7

Room For Improvement
- did not always feel the chemistry between the two
- the side m/m couple dynamic switched very fast and then they disappeared for several episodes
- Ja could have communicated more clearly with Jack
- what on earth was episode 7 part 4, it did not seem to fit with the rest of the story and came out of nowhere, I took .5 off my rating for this
- very cringe to have a tribute concert to someone who has died and then say what Jack said
- nonsense, some people would support them from the announcement
- not sure who that woman was in episode 10 but fairly sure she didn't deserve such fast forgiveness
- unsure of what the ending left us with, he could definitely still perform if he wanted, it didn't need to be the end of his career
(note: I watched episodes 9 and 10 with auto translated English subtitles)

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interesting premise with underwhelming execution

Overall: I really liked the fantasy elements, but the rushed/choppy storytelling lowered my score. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/the-story-of-bihyung-enchanted-master-of-goblin-episode-1-1zvs3hjpsvs?lang=en_us (in the Americas Oceana, Spain, UK and Portugal); GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5817/the-story-of-bihyung-enchanted-master-of-goblin-2025 (in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau or the rest of Europe); Heavenly & Watcha (South Korea) and FOD (Japan)

Content Warnings: non con kiss, dreamed sexual assault at the end of ep 2, slaps, attempted suicide (it's complicated), jump scares/scary make up

What I Liked
- premise
- though I didn't love world-building/exposition dumps, the drawings/animations were nice
- visuals
- quirky vibe

Room For Improvement
- many characters introduced, confusing start
- started with the present and then jumped back 36 hours
- didn't understand why it was bad that a ghost didn't get the 1st guy
- between 1 pair, have they not communicated in hundreds? thousands? of years??! then towards the end, more bad communication and suddenly they make up
- didn't feel the chemistry with the main pair, I think goblin was reluctant for too long
- should have shown the background earlier than halfway through episode 9 so I could better root for them as a couple
- 1 year time jump for the finale, rushed/things not fully explained

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could have been a 9 or higher

Overall: once again needed to focus on the leads and their relationship development and this time give a trash character some consequences. 60 episodes 1-2 minutes each, episodes 1-10 are free on the Shortime app and you can watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzMzx8JLRJA Aired on Shortime app which also has: Double Play, Please Teach Me, Falling For My Boss, Summer Indigo, The Secrets of Male Students, Accent, Influencer Love and Buddy Boy. App information is below. My invite link is https://playground.shortime.app/en/invite/NKNIWI - the code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i)

Content Warnings: physical abuse, bullying, near self harm, blackmail/coercion, punch, manhandling, non con recording/sharing, unwanted public outing, slap, cyberbullying

What I Liked
- dream kiss in episode 1
- sweet moments
- martial arts backdrop
- the bully did apologize

Room For Improvement
- there is a truly awful character who seems to have zero consequences, he should have gone to jail
- really stupid plans, is the team a gang, why can't people just quit?
- two noble idiot/refuse to communicate tropes
- a camera angle blocked kiss

My Watch For Free Plan (updated Feb 2025)
1 friend referral code = 20 (1 time bonus) My invite link is https://playground.shortime.app/en/invite/NKNIWI - the code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i)

On the Rewards (popcorn bag icon page)
- check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
- turn on notifications = 30 (1 time bonus)
- create a login = 20? (I did create a login because otherwise you only get 1 Always Win box instead of 3 per day, I think this was 20 popcorn)
- do the 3 random popcorn from the daily Always Win box = 30 (I'd normally get 5-15, around 30 in total)
- Watch Ads, watch all 10 ads each day, have to wait 30 seconds in between ads = 110

When you run out of popcorn while watching, you can watch 5 episodes each day with ads

Note that there are other 1 time bonuses like following on social media

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music based vertical series

Overall: I enjoyed the music aspect, but they needed to narrow the focus more on the main leads/their relationship development. 35 episodes 1-2 minutes each, episodes 1-5 are free on the Shortime app and you can watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/i4ve-gyjRR0?si=6sSwQwvm__DDlLI0 Aired on Shortime app which also has: Please Teach Me, Falling For My Boss, The Secrets of Male Students, Influencer Love and Buddy Boy. App information is below. My referral clink is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.

Content Warnings: non con touching, professor/university student, grooming?, manipulation, self harm, blood, child abuse, trauma, mental health struggles

What I Liked
- started off in an exciting way (though I wasn't as happy when I learned who the characters were/their dynamic)
- caring moments
- good kissing

Room For Improvement
- the shift in feelings was a bit sudden
- should have cut the love triangle or the past trauma
- bad redemption arc for a character

My Watch For Free Plan (updated Feb 2025), should take about 3 days
My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.

On the Rewards (popcorn bag icon page)
- check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
- turn on notifications = 30 (1 time bonus)
- create a login = 20? (I did create a login because otherwise you only get 1 Always Win box instead of 3 per day, I think this was 20 popcorn)
- do the 3 random popcorn from the daily Always Win box = 30 (I'd normally get 5-15, around 30 in total)
- Watch Ads, watch all 10 ads each day, have to wait 30 seconds in between ads = 110

When you run out of popcorn while watching, you can watch 5 episodes each day with ads

Note that there are other 1 time bonuses like following on social media

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great to see Boss & Fort again

Overall: seeing Boss & Fort was a highlight in what should have been a fun vacation special episode. Aired in 2 parts about 1 hour total on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4936/love-in-the-air-2024-e09 and https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4937/love-in-the-air-2024-e10

Content Warnings: maybe non con touching/kissing (it's complicated)

What I Liked
- intimacy
- cute moments
- Boss & Fort

Room For Improvement
- 7 minutes was too long of a recap though if someone wasn't feeling the series I guess they could just watch that
- directly after the recap there is a random character and what felt like a random scene (does make sense later)
- the cliche thing at the end of part 1 was confusing with how Fuma & Arashi acted as if it was on purpose, so I ended up disliking them most of the special until that was explained
- the woman playing ping pong part
- Rei and Kai who generally feel like they have less power in their relationships continued to have less power during most of the special
- Fuma's hideous suits

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I'm watching so you don't have to (on hold as 3 months later there haven't been any more episodes)

Overall: I wish I could communicate to creators that the majority of us who enjoy BLs don't want to see abusive parents, cliche wannabe girlfriends/fiancees, love triangles and idiot/fickle MLs. I'm only giving it a 6 because it hasn't finished airing. 61 episodes about 2 minutes each. Airing on Stealing From My CEO YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPI1JWvmjRBKQdQr6dtkfhjV70qOc_r5j&si=AMF9kD-Ry2JtT4Eo

Content Warnings: murder, manipulation, slap, theft, child abuse/torture/violence

What I Liked
- the bond between the two guys (i.e. I'm rooting for the pair that is not the end game)
- that they are uploading it (eventually) to YouTube instead of just their app

Room For Improvement
- no desire to watch a very abusive dad
- the main lead is an idiot and I actively don't want him to end up with the other guy
- started with a flash forward
- mom did an exposition dump
- cliche female character
- nonsense things that aren't funny or enjoyable (that magic serum is one example)

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what a special episode should be

Overall: we had 27 minutes of new content that was a progression of their story and fluff which is exactly what I was looking for in a special episode. Available on GagaOOLala & Viki (country dependent).

What I Liked
- sweet/fluff moments
- intimacy/physical affection
- styling
- continuation of their story

Room For Improvement
- the 2 cringey fall, catch and awkward holds
- some of the camerawork felt low budget/shaky
- needed the production to include the 2 characters at the end into the special's intro sequence to refresh viewers' memories, per the review comment they are the cousin/colleague and the driver from the series, I'm likely not the only person who had no idea who they were so their appearance felt random

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