BL Compilations

rushed with some cute parts, loose adaptation of Why R U (Thailand, 2020)

Overall: This is a remake of the 2020 Thai BL Why R U (which in turn is based on a book) but I will review it on its own merits. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Note: there is an extra scene after the next week's preview in some episodes. Aired on iQIYI & Viki (depending on your country). Idol Romance also produced: Roommates of Poongduck 304, The Tasty Florida and Kissable Lips.

Content Warnings: manhandling, non con touching, non con kiss?, slap (part of acting)

What I Liked
- I did laugh a few times (swearing at each other with their fingers)
- cute moments
- Max & Nat cameo
- the original Why R U series playing in the background in a scene
- the perspective change in ep 2
- Sun Woo & Yoo Kyeom (up until the end of ep 4 when that reaction made zero sense to me)
- good kissing

Room For Improvement
- the intro felt like a trailer/exposition dump, it didn't hook me
- another bad "plan" that belongs in middle school (from Ji Oh), however Ji Oh had a personality change around episode 5 and I liked his character more/the dynamic
- confusing, did not clearly differentiate the flashback from present (the widescreen is flashback, full screen is present), several fast cuts
- was too choppy/rushed, should have cut out the sister/book thing entirely
- interjecting women/love triangles, (she had such a stupid plan, why wouldn't she tell her friend?)
- why didn't Yoo Kyeom tell Sun Woo about the girlfriend situation, he knew that they are friends
- cliche overhearing something and not telling the person what is wrong, and then a few days later he says he believes in being clear and finally tells him
- long recaps

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a different kind of love story

Overall: fans of season 1 will enjoy season 2 as it has the same vibe (it's not a fluffy romcom). 4 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala and Viki.

Content Warnings: shove/kick/hit, suicidal thoughts, manhandling

What I Liked:
- recap at the beginning
- the intro/song
- domestic bliss moments
- acting
- character styling
- really liked the last episode and wish we would have seen more of this earlier
- relationship between Kiyoi and the actress
- the parallel with photography/that conversation with the photographer was nicely done in the final episode
- production value

Room For Improvement:
- the descriptions of this series and the series itself position that it happens over a year from where we left off in season 1. However, Hira and Kiyoi's interactions don't feel like two people who are an established couple. It very much feels like we left off at the end of season 1.
- I struggle with their character flaws/this plot isn't really my thing but I think the acting is very good and it is nice to see flawed characters

note: I struggle with Kiyoi calling Hira gross and disgusting. I've heard that that word in Japanese can be translated as several different words including creepy. So I wonder if it's more like Kiyoi calling a weirdo, but kind of more in an affectionate way and not in a negative way...

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a more realistic countryside BL

Overall: this is a shorter movie (first part was 30 minutes) in two parts from a small production company Wayufilm. Their stuff is kind of hit or miss for me, I did enjoy Country Boy (both parts) and Country Boy 2 (second part). This ended up on my 'hit' list. I graded a bit on a curve because this is a small budget production. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: fight, vomiting, past tragedy

What I Liked
- the actress for the mom did a great job and I appreciate how a mom character doesn't look like the moms we typically see in series/movies. Was also really happy with her response at the end.
- I think they acted realistically drunk (though not sure about sobering up that fast for the one character)
- a nice 'getting to know each other' montage
- the color grading
- the countryside setting and music (one of the actors sings the OST)
- the behind the scenes clips (though they were unsubbed)

Room For Improvement
- I am not a fan of toilet humor
- it felt a bit close to "I don't like men, I just like you" trope but that line was never specifically said

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Plot Rushed

Overall: They tried to make the plot too complex for a short runtime and I don't even think I'd call this BL. Because they did a 'Yoo Han is kidnapped' plot, Yeon Woo is not available to pair with anyone else romantically. Watched on Viki.

Content Warnings: bullying, side character deaths, fight scenes

What I Liked:
- good production value
- good acting

Room For Improvement
- very confusing/rushed/overly complicated plot - there's a secret bar, tea, pills, vantablack, fake candy factory, grayscale, probe surgery, a bunch of new characters introduced
- I really enjoyed season 1s vibe that was kind of dangerous/obsessive, this does not have that same vibe
- that kiss was mostly camera angle tricks and it was in a dream
- what idiot characters take drinks or pills from very shady characters, at least one could have faked taking the pill
- odd/non logical things such as: Yeon Woo just happens to leave around his very important notebook, also his aunt leaves something really important in a place that Yeon Woo can easily find (when has keeping secrets ever worked out well btw), if telling her bullies about her brother would stop her from being bullied why wouldn't she do that?, she suddenly dies (I'm sure there's a plot twist in that but it felt so random), the grandpa would know the truth wouldn't he tell the classmate? better to say nothing at all then a totally unhelpful "run away", the brother knew his sister was being bullied wouldn't he intervene?, no way the mom's headband would look brand new after years in the water, what exactly even happened with the mom? why would they do that elaborate candy factory thing when they could just go and kidnap monos?

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Well that took a turn....

Overall: I'd rate the first part (until 8min 25sec, just end it there, trust me) an 8. It felt a bit contrived but the NSFW was done well and steamy (no fake kissing there). But the 2nd part just took such an unfortunate turn. Also I think a better summary is "a security guard meets a bartender and things go down south" (or was he actually a police officer? I don't know the uniforms...). Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: stealing, trespassing, violence, murder?

What I Liked
- the first 8min and 25sec

What I Disliked
- everything past 8min and 25sec, this all seemed so unnecessary and done for shock value

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sweet MLs with nonsense plot elements

Overall: the two leads gave me fuzzy feelings, but there was a lot of nonsense plot stuff. 12 episodes about 23 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (Americas, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, India, Southeast Asia) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5191/fight-for-you-2025-e01 ; Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41043c-fight-for-you ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/fight-for-you-2025-1cgc4effwtd?lang=en_us ; Heavenly (South Korea)

Content Warnings: manipulation, violence, past deaths

Watch Suggestions starting at ep 8 (to reduce angst/annoying stuff)
- episode 8 watch 3:30-6:05
- skip episode 9
- episode 10 watch 22:30-end
- episode 11 watch beginning to 5:30 and 22:15-end
- watch all of episode 12

What I Liked
- visuals/intimacy with the MLs
- cameo of Eternal Butler actors
- easy to understand premise
- caring/sweet moments
- clear communication in ep 7
- the grandma
- finale was pretty good though the sister stuff shouldn't have been resolved off screen

Room For Improvement
- starting the episodes with talking to the camera
- was initially confused because I thought they were friends in episode 1 only to learn that they just met each other
- unclear flashback in the middle of episode 1
- noble idiot trope
- the side couple had barely any screen time until the finale
- nonsense stuff like: sent the least capable person on a difficult job, a character with a major injury quickly left the hospital and was walking around at home, lying and then quickly telling the truth

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beautiful and heartbreaking

Overall: this is not your typical BL romcom, it's beautifully done but heartbreaking. I wasn't sure about the dynamic with the cold/low affect guy and the happy go lucky guy but we get important background information and their dynamic grew on me. Airing on GagaOOLala and Viki (depends on your country).

Content Warnings: death, grief, threatened suicide

What I Liked
- cute moments like the studying
- the younger siblings were adorable
- consent scene
- the perspective flip in the final episode
- production value

Room For Improvement
- not a fan of flash forwards/flashbacks right away as it makes it more confusing, but I followed this one pretty easily
- the part at the end of episode 1 is not realistic for how he looked based on what happened
- some unrealistic parts/confusing world building
- should have made the previous summer flashback more clear
- I wasn't happy with the end but not for the same reason as maybe other people, I liked what they were talking about with the teacher and wanted them to go that route
- the happy intro and outro was a stark contrast to the story
- there were several large plot points that were revealed right at the end of the series and would have liked more time to develop these

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Overall: an explicit 1 hour movie that needed to connect the dots a bit more regarding plot points. Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warning: dub con, very explicit sex scenes

What I Liked
- the Italian music
- that really muscular guy was so sweet (and he made me laugh a few times)
- showing the stress of caring for an aging/ill parent

Room For Improvement
- we needed more explanation, why did he go away for 7 years? I wasn't even sure why he returned/his relationship to the couple until I read the summary. I'm all for NSFW scenes, but they could have removed a couple and built the plot more.

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To My Angst

Overall: season 1 was a romance so I was hoping in season 2 to learn more about the backgrounds of the two leads, have some character growth (specifically Ji Woo getting better at communicating), some fluff and some realistic drama (i.e. the public finding out about their romance and fallout from that). Instead we got...angst and character regression instead of growth. If someone wants to avoid 9 episodes of angst, then I'd suggest just watching episode 10. I really dislike when one character is a huge jerk to the other character for a long time because then I'm not happy if they are together at the end due to all the pain that was caused. Once you break a glass, even if you put it back together, it will never be the same. Watched on Viki (also Gagaoolala)

Content Warnings: gaslighting, grief

What I Liked
- the cute scenes
- episode 10 (except for the very last two lines), enjoyed the callbacks to the first season
- acting
- music (wish we had vocals for the intro though)
- the supporting characters from season 1 that returned in season 2 (and wish they had had more screen time/depth for their characters)
- talking about Ho Min's decision was funny (I looked up the actor)

Room For Improvement
- Ji Woo, I am so disappointed that instead of character growth we got character regression. Breaking up via a sticky note and ghosting someone (on their birthday no less) after a year of dating is inexcusable. Then Ji Woo has the gall to name his restaurant "I'm Waiting For You". Ji Woo lies to Seo Joon and is extra cruel by telling Seo Joon that it's Seo Joon's fault their relationship doesn't work before eventually admitting it was Ji Woo's fault/insecurities. No amount of grief or introvertedness excuses his actions (I know people who are extremely introverted and they all manage to communicate with their significant others)
- Seo Joon needs to learn about respecting boundaries - I realize this was supposed to be romantic but it felt like harassment to me
- non logical/realistic plot things/responses - is a celebrity having a fear of loud noises a huge scandal??? I don't understand this at all. Another is, what a terrible detective. It took 1 year to figure out that Ji Woo was in the town where he grew up/where his parents used to live, wouldn't that be the first place to look??? Also what was the motivation for who posted that story about Seo Joon?
- the cliche ex, this added nothing for me
- the kid, if they were shown babysitting a friend/relative's kid and talking about how they wanted their family to be in the future that would have been awesome, but this character seemed tossed in to add additional drama
- the frequent time jumps back and forth made it feel disjointed and confusing, wish they had told this in a linear fashion
- the explanation for Seo Joon's phobia was underwhelming
- I wish they had had a short recap of season 1 at the beginning of episode 1
- the intro with season 1 short scenes and instrumental music wasn't my favorite intro

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groundbreaking in some areas and reinforced stereotypes/terrible in others

Overall: I liked how they brought up several current social issues but episode 6 pretty much wrecked the series for me (see more info in my comment). It is obvious that the 2 directors and 3 writers were all men, this thing will age like milk. Aired on YouTube.
Note: there may be words/discussion in this review that people find triggering.

Content Warnings: rape (beginning of episode 6 more info in my comment), violence/beaten up, kidnapping/held against will, bullying, homophobia, transphobia, non con kissing, non con photo taking/posting, body shaming, sexual harassment, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- bringing up and educating about social issues, ones I thought they did well include: school having sex education class, abortion, body shaming, non penetrative sex, educating about HPV, addressing transphobia
- sexual orientation and gender diversity (m/m, f/f and m/f couples; non binary character, a trans woman character who isn't the comic relief cliche)
- that they didn't shy away from showing NSFW scenes
- I enjoyed a lot of the music

Room For Improvement
- the writer/s really messed up on several issues:
      1. more information under a comment with spoiler tag but the whole Alex and Jean thing in episode 6, they should have focused on the part with the pictures. The fact that people can't agree that Alex raped Jean (which he 100% did, you can say stop at any point for any reason at all) shows how badly the writers messed this plotline up. And that he continually violates her boundaries by talking to her. His friends come up with the plan to retraumatize Jean by again contacting her and then kissing her in order to get his orgasm back. His friends don't know that Alex raped Jean but Alex definitely knows this and yet he goes along with their plan WTF?!? And I predicted they would end it as they did, vomit.
      2. BDSM conflated with cheating and poor communication - I was so happy to see consensual puppy play but was disappointed they went the poor communication, her not really being into it and him cheating (and yes he emotionally cheated and lied by omission). I didn't want her to take him back (welp update, guess what happened bleh)
     3. Open relationship conflated with poor communication and not as good as monogamy - again I guess it was too much to hope we'd see a healthy open relationship. Instead we got them fighting/hitting each other and really bad communication before they eventually made up. And now it appears they are getting married and end up in a monogamous relationship.
4. Army and Jo - I really wanted them to work through their differences but once again in episode 11 Army is ignoring/pushing Jo's boundaries with what he feels comfortable with. I'm not saying their relationship couldn't work but I wanted to see more communication and mutual decision making. I also didn't like how they made Army violate Alex's boundaries a few times, this felt like the stereotypical gay guy who can't keep his hands off of others.
5. Kat - again they are positioning monogamy as superior to non monogamy
6. The workplace sexual harassment - eventually they showed the boss as a douche but some people are really touchy feely in a non-sexual way. I wanted the writers to make it more clear cut. So have him make an inappropriate remark "your breasts look great in that shirt" or Liu tell him to stop touching her and then he continued. As I later state, it annoyed me that Alex and Ew had to be involved at all/come to the rescue. Instead of Liu punching him, what about getting the boss other consequences like suspended without pay/fired? I would have written this plot differently.

- that Alex continues to be a gynecologist with his only training being a short tutorial on giving a pelvic exam (because that obviously is sufficient instead of years of medical school/internship #sarcasm). He should have taken vacation or a leave of absence. It's insulting that he continues to give (perhaps dangerous and incorrect) medical advice to his patients.
- whatever happened with Jean's endometriosis? (in a comment someone said that this was not endometriosis but was from a poorly done abortion, however, they never explicitly state this so I feel that a very serious medical issue was not resolved/explained well)
- Kat, why did it seem like she was having her mug shots taken? There is 1 line about him being arrested but I would have liked them to actually show him arrested and put into jail.
- too many characters/plots meant not enough screentime/not fully developed characters and plots, I also think they should have reduced the number of social issues and brought them up more organically, it felt like an after school special at some points
- Alex positioned as everyone's savior so that he can climax, this was annoying and shallow. Army even specifically asked Alex not to talk to Jo and Alex ignored him and talked to Jo. Then Alex starts yelling at Liu's boss and ignores her even though she repeatedly asks Alex to stop. They should have focused on going back in time and left the whole orgasm part out of it.
- Ew proposing at his friend's wedding, I thought this was a universal no-no, Ew it isn't your day!
- the writers tried to have flawed/complex characters but instead they made a**hole characters that I don't want to watch/don't want to see certain couples be together
- not satisfied with the ending, obviously the writers haven't heard of the butterfly effect....

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intimacy done right, a very enjoyable BL

Overall: all the feelings (hurt, hope, shyness, giddiness, happiness) feel natural in this series. 8 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on Viki and GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: workplace bullying

What I Liked
- what happened at the end of episode 5 was well done and included some of the original sounds!
- ongoing affection/playfulness (hand holding, hugs, quick kisses, etc)
- that communication issues didn't drag on in the present and were addressed fairly quickly
- integration of computer/gaming animation, including the ending sequences
- according to my expert, the computer stuff was mostly realistic, especially the stuff in episode 5
- end of episode 4 was very well done
- workplace dynamics and that they were actually working/busy
- production value

Room For Improvement
- I struggled with this premise but things took a turn for the better the end of episode 4 once I understood that a character was hurt/upset
- strange that the beginning of episode 5 didn't start at where the story was at the end of episode 4
- wanted a bit more transparency but I'll pretend they had a serious conversation about the decision off screen
- was really happy at the end of episode 8 but it was awkward their hands were both at their sides instead of on back of neck, back, arms or chest and also the distance between their bodies was strange

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promising premise with lackluster writing

Overall: I hope Pearl and Peak get a better script in the future because the writers tried to do way too much and they made Scent irredeemable for a romantic lead part. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6944/flower-boy-2026-e01 (not in Thailand, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau)

Content Warnings: manipulation, past murders, past held against will/torture, non con kiss, non con sex*, non con touching/manhandling, death

What I Liked
- unique premise
- countryside setting for part of it
- visuals
- Pearl & Peak
- neutral on Ray, he didn't mean to have the effect it did when he pushed Gaysorn and he and his boyfriend did want to help Gaysorn learn the truth (though was was with the boyfriend taking those secretive pictures of Gaysorn in episode 6? it was still odd when they addressed it in episode 8)

Room For Improvement
- *Gaysorn was very traumatized and not in his normal head space, he also did not have all of the information about Scent/Scent's intentions (taking the post sex pillowcase was so yuck), the first 5 episodes did not show romance, just manipulation of someone extremely naive/innocent
- the underwater non con kiss was not sweet
- Scent couldn't think why Gaysorn would be upset and leave him in ep 6...use your brain Scent, what were you doing that was extremely hurtful to your supposed soulmate...
- so many stupid/nonsense things (did no one try to pay them either in the past or the present???)
- wtf, why wasn't Scent's dad tossed in jail too, he was fine with her being tortured/held against her will and just stood there as the uncle strangled her to death and then when he apologized to Scent, Scent said "that's okay" ugh
- camera angle blocked kiss with the side couple
- open ending, did he die???

Thoughts on Grey Characters/Their Romantic Relationships
Sometimes these characters and their dynamic work for me and other times they don't. Here are the factors that I'm thinking about.
1. was there a realistic reason why the character/s acted the way they did in the past/present - (kind of, Scent thinks he'll save his father's life though he never visits him so his undying love rings hollow)
2. were both characters grey or was one squeaky clean (Gaysorn is the most naive/innocent character ever while Scent has a playboy reputation and was very manipulative)
3. what was the duration/severity of the harmful behavior - (finally in episode 6 Gaysorn learned the truth (not from Scent who I think would never had told him the truth), that was way too long for the manipulation to go on with only 2 episodes left
4. was there some kind of apology/amend making (in episode 6 there were a few I'm sorrys and drunk crying)
5. was there character growth (I think so, Scent did have a solid speech in episode 8 that he didn't deserve Gaysorn)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (ummm, not with that ending with the way that I'm interpreting it)

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abusive and cringey relationship dynamics

Overall: I don't understand why they didn't focus on a romance between two students...8 episodes about 10 minutes each. Aired on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ__edMZliXtEdkx1zhKwx0tL0jSzV1qT&si=gc2JzxCkosSIn7Rp

Content Warnings: intimate partner abuse, punch, minor/non minor relationship, teacher/student relationship, non con recording/sharing/outing, non con touching, manipulation, grooming

What I Liked
- visuals

Room For Improvement
- why would I want to root for multiple abusive characters, there is no relationship development just abuse and the met him as a child added even more yuck to their relationship
- love triangle/3 guys all in love with 1 guy who...is smart academically...
- ghost story at the start of episode 5

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your emotions will be served

Overall: grab a tissue box because this was a roller coaster for me. Note the content warnings and the series itself may be very triggering. 10 episodes about 20 minutes each. No official international release (which is a huge shame and I hope it gets one eventually). Spoiler for the ending in the comments.

Content Warnings: intimate partner abuse/violence, past rape/sexual assault, manipulation, homophobia, death, grief, past abuse

What I Liked
- an established couple who wasn't dealing with a love rival or terrible communication (the lack of physical affection shown didn't bother me as they were together a long time and not everyone is super physically affectionate, it was obvious that they loved each other)
- opposite personalities that compliment each other
- discussed the unfairness of current laws
- that they touched on Japan's single custody law where one parent gets full custody and can deny the other parent from ever seeing their child again leading to 70% of children in sole custody having no visitation with the other parent (there is a new 2026 law that might change this), which is likely why a character didn't seek divorce earlier (because they might lose custody)
- avoided a cartoonish antagonist

Room For Improvement
- a character was allegedly extremely intelligent, but didn't seem to mind putting is job in jeopardy
- some of the side stories weren't as gripping, I think they should have pared them down and focused on the main plot

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how another person can change self-perception

Overall: this is a grittier story, but there is still hope. The series was based on a manga which I have read part of, however I tried to review the series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4708/happy-of-the-end-2024

Content Warnings: almost every single content warning, it has very serious themes (episode 4 was pretty brutal, could skip to 21:30, also the first half of episode 6 was difficult for me to watch)

What I Liked
- a grittier story we rarely see
- flawed characters
- the cooking subverted trope
- acted like grown adults who went thru some terrible things
- caring moments
- that a character didn't believe what another character told him in ep 7

Room For Improvement
- not a fan of exposition dumps but I realized they were trying to cover a lot in not much screentime
- were there no brakes on the truck in episode 5?
- in episode 7 a character was pretty stupid to rile up another character
- seemed pretty nonsense that a character was walking free after there was video evidence, also I don't think victims need to press charges, I think law enforcement can proceed with charges themselves
- one character had not enough consequences (and the lame last minute attempt at trying to make that character sympathetic), and then another character had too many consequences
- I'm not a fan of episode 8 overall, it didn't seem to fit the characters

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