BL Compilations

La Méchante Femme

Overall: I was hoping to see a sweet rom com with cute guys and cooking, but after the first few episodes this took an unwanted dark/serious turn. It spent waayyy too much time on an overused cliche instead of developing romantic relationships. Watching on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: attempted murder, severely beaten up, slapped, cyberbullying, harassment, body shaming, manhandling, non con kiss (sleeping), non con taking pictures/posting, threatening with a gun

What I Liked
- the intro/title sequence was fun
- I liked Lukchup's and Ram's friend groups
- the cute and funny moments
- the food looked delicious

Room For Improvement
- the cliche evil wannabe girlfriend dragged on waaaayyyyy too long, 10 full minutes of crying in the final episode. She did get some consequences but nearly enough for what she did.
- Lukchup's lack of agency - he couldn't go see Ram in the hospital when he wanted, everyone was constantly meeting and making plans without him, he felt too childlike
 - non logical things like Lukchup and Ram's family having a bunch of money but they didn't think to hire security for Lukchup? Why didn't both Ram and Lukchup run back to the building? Why did they need to collect sooooo much evidence before contacting the police, that's what the police investigation does... The police just have a nice tea while the criminal could be running away and/or destroying evidence??? 
- didn't like the social media fan page of a regular college student and people lining up to take pictures with him, it creeps me out
- the ending where multiple relationships were just shoved together at the last minute. Also the second time jump felt like lazy writing. I wish they had spent the time on the relationships and not on Namning.

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Standard Korean BL Series

Overall: the general comments below applies to a whole bunch of Korean BL. I'd say overall it's fine, but suffers from the same issues as other series. Watched on Viki (minor spoilers)

Content Warnings: murders (off screen), suicide, dub con kiss (sleeping)

What I Liked
- good production value
- the flashbacks were obvious
- I thought Yeon Seok's personality (with his confidence/big ego) was funny in the beginning
- the cat magical creature pretty much declares she is asexual, I appreciate the representation and I wish this character was more fully developed
- that both Sin Bi and Ha Yeon called Yeon Seok for being a jerk because he was a jerk

Room For Improvement
- choppy/rushed, I didn't really understand/buy into the sudden shift with Yeon Seok's feelings
- cliche poor communication at the end and Ha Yeon being angry at Yeon Seok when Yeon Seok is doing exactly what Ha Yeon asked him to do (eyeroll)
- pointless love triangle, that screen time could have gone to developing the m/m romance and/or fleshing out the cat goddess character
- the kissing was okay but not great
- why did Ha Yeon get killed the second time, we just never know???

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it got there eventually (watch suggestions)

Overall: this is a premise we've seen several times already (Night Dream, The Promise, Venus in the Sky) and I haven't been impressed with the execution of any of them. In this case they revealed the reason way too late and the pacing was quite slow. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on Netflix in 11 countries in Southeast Asia including Thailand. Later added subtitles on their YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDIqVRSvaz9Ii4mniqowFEaRS2Mfel8DT&si=dnuP2dj0o_fVAyGj

Content Warnings: blood, death off screen, grief, non con kiss, punches, parental abuse

Watch Suggestions (unless you enjoy very slow pacing/love rivals)
- read the synopsis
- watch episode 4 at the beginning to 17 minutes, then 34:30 to the end
- watch the flashback in episode 5 30-34:25
- watch episode 6, skip 31-36 unless you want to hate Ji's dad
- you can start episode 7 at 7:20 or watch the whole thing
- watch episode 8

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- adorable puppy
- intimacy/tension in episode 7 and 8
- Ji's supportive friend (need Poppy in a lead BL role)
- visuals
- ended the series well

Room For Improvement
- I understand wanting some mystery, but they didn't clearly reveal why Ji was so angry at Achi until episode 7, I couldn't really support their relationship until I understood exactly what happened
- Achi saying he had a girlfriend in episode 2 right before he did what he did made no sense, another bad "plan"
- the tone started very serious followed by scenes with comedy sound effects and then another serious scene, the changing tone felt jarring
- at times it wasn't immediately clear what was in flashback vs. present
- nonsense stuff (i.e. fake-looking blood, a doctor saying they can do a surgery without seeing anything in person, diagnosing something from just an x-ray)
- what the dad did in episode 6
- one side couple had no resolution

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could have been a 10/10

Overall: although I enjoyed the beginning, things unraveled for me. 8 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired on GagaOOLala uncut: https://gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4688/4minutes-2024 (except Thailand, Japan, Korea); iQIYI uncut https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-sultrier-version-2024-1zc6sune8fl?lang=en_us and cut version https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-2024-1h7yndte6zx?lang=en_us (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom and United States); Viu with some countries having the cut version (Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Myanmar, Singapore); Rakuten TV in Japan and Heavenly in South Korea. The cut version has NSFW shortened/cut and also cuts out some plot as well.

Content Warnings: most content warnings, it has some very dark/graphic parts in it

What I Liked
- mystery element
- grey characters
- use of the number 4 or things adding up to 4
- production value* (includes cinematography, use of color as symbolism, props to represent things)

Room For Improvement
- not a fan of a flash forward (or back) as a hook for a series
- there were too many characters/plot to fully develop them all, also pacing
- misleading trailer, it felt that a different character is the main lead instead of a character people were led to believe
- tricking the audience, not a fan of how that was done
- sweet moments that didn't actually happen
- cliched plot stuff
- no reason why a character had a girlfriend, I couldn't support a romance because it was built to not be a romance
- cringey guitar playing/serenading
- the intimate scenes were needed but they did not need to be that explicit/I didn't need to glimpse an actor's body part when walking around
- *many scenes were too dark to see the actors' faces or even what was happening, even for scenes at night they need to put light on their faces
- nonsense stuff: I can't comment on all of the medical things and their realism, but I highly doubt any surgeon would spin his medical implements before/during a surgery, that seemed to be a ton of papers for a small clipboard in ep 1, an investigator who didn't wear gloves at a crime scene, in ep 4 a character oddly didn't wear a mask when he should have
- Be On Cloud decided to sell it to a company where it is only airing in 8 countries (and perhaps 2 more) and then had the gall to not respond anywhere to questions about the remaining 180+ countries but instead posted about how to only watch it via official channels, I don't mind companies needing money to get things made but they should have been clear about where and the why (update: after 5 weeks they had an actual international release and the reason was likely money/maybe they couldn't say their whole release plan due to a contract but it still was bad to not have an official platform for 180+ countries for 5 weeks)

Note About an Actor's Age (I didn't take off points for this but as an fyi 1 actor was likely 17 when he filmed several very explicit scenes, age of majority in Thailand is 20)
- it's valid to feel uncomfortable with a 17 year old actor doing explicit scenes and to not watch this series
- it's valid to feel fine with a 17 year old actor who voluntarily agreed to do explicit scenes (and had his parents' permission) and watch/enjoy this series
- everyone gets to make that decision for themselves, I hold no judgement either way for this example, personally I am watching the series but I'm not re-watching that actor's NC scenes

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healed my vampire BL trauma

Overall: finally a vampire BL that was not a comedy (at least not intentionally) and had a solid ending. I gave this an indie rating bump. 8 episodes about 10 minutes each. Aired on Love Memory's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwW9ZsuS2Fna5mZ_YiEKYIY3NukytYJHF&si=kWJI2s3lm5doc8QT

Content Warnings: blood, injury, violence, kidnapping, attempted murder

What I Liked
- premise
- visuals
- at least the world building dump was slightly better than is typical
- what happened at the end of episode 1

Room For Improvement
- not enough screen time to do the story justice, maybe should have just focused on the leads and developed their romance more
- that chomp sound in episode 1
- the fight in episode 8
- cringe parts

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loss, revenge and love

Overall: unique premise with solid chemistry. Note: this series and review have several very disturbing images/scenes. I noted timings to take out the most severe ones. The series was based on a manhwa/webtoon of the same name. I read the source material, but I reviewed the series based on it's own merits. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/payback-uncut-episode-1-1h8pgey90dg?lang=en_us

Content Warnings: past (murder, suicide, manipulation, coercion, blood, death, beaten up, severe bullying); present (punches, near sexual assault, non/dub con turned consensual/it's complicated*, mental health struggles, coerced oral sex/sex trafficking, kidnapping, beaten up, drugging, murders, torture, self harm, rape, gang rape)

Skip Suggestions (to take out the most severe content warnings, I might have missed some flashbacks with his brother)
- episode 1: 7:10-7:40, 23:20-24
- episode 6: 43:30-43:45
- episode 7: 12:15-12:45, 42:50-44:05, 50:55-51:20, 55-56:30
- episode 8: beginning-3:40, 49:50-51:510 (part of a movie they are filming)
- episode 9: 2:15-2:30, 36:30-42:05, 1hr-end is a violent fight scene
- episode 10: 26:25-27, 45:30-46 or continue to 48:30 though 1 character gets his cummepence), 1hr1min40-1hr1min55, 1hr5min30-1hr6min40s

What I Liked
- unique, gritty vibe
- supportive friend and manager
- acting (normally low affect is tricky, but the actor has done a great job and I understand why the character was that way)
- chemistry
- the uncle was funny
- that the manager suggested a therapist
- evildoers got their cummepence

Room For Improvement
- I was a little confused in the beginning due to multiple timeline jumps and characters who changed hair color (update: note that the source material does this as well so it is a faithful adaptation in that regard)
- music too loud at times or doesn't completely match the vibe of the scene
- the leads needed more screen time, they could have reduced some side characters/plot to better explain the plot
- exposition dumps

*my take on the physical intimacy with the leads - It didn't feel non-consensual to me.
Sun - he says he is guilty for what happened (others had a role hence the revenge). I don't think he thinks he deserves to feel, especially happiness/pleasure. From his dream, the viewer sees there is attraction. So the non con didn't feel as much as non con to me. In the past with the crying while being intimate, one part was emotional sadness and another may have been physical pain; however, he wanted physical pain, he did not think he deserved a pleasurable experience.

Jay - I believe it started as a game to get Sun to feel things and then changed to genuine love/caring especially after he learned something. Jay's interest in Sun crying makes me think that Jay has not cried (ever/in a long time) and was fascinated by it in the past and wants to see Sun having feelings again, including happiness and pleasure.

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standard Thai romcom

Overall: I would call this an old school Thai BL and wish they had changed a few things to make it feel more fresh. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel. If I were to re-watch I would start at episode 4, skip 5, 6, and 7, watch 8/2 2 min and the end of ep 8 thru 11, and episode 12 part 4.

Content Warnings: stalking, vomiting, punches, manhandling, manipulation

What I Liked
- the intro animation was unique though it didn't grab my attention
- Joke's dream
- cute/sweet moments
- that they both talked about the importance of boundaries and communication (but then both didn't take this advice at various points)
- an established couple with a realistic problem, wish they had more screentime
- Zo's friends
- the grandma
- kissing/intimacy

Room For Improvement
- Joke's approach/"plan" made no sense to me
- poorly written plot such as the stalking plotline, the Joke backstory in the final episode, the 3rd couple?/friends? introduced almost at the end with no real resolution
- why did Joke like Zo there wasn't even a love at first sight
- very tropey (2 accidental falls in one episode for example)
- pacing was off at times, series could have been fewer episodes
- a "makeover" where they took away his adorable glasses (and in total contradiction, Joke said to stay true to himself)
- talking about owing Joke
- non realistic debate stuff, and then the debate stuff in general
- choppy at times (episode 5 was suddenly the next day)
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

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evenly matched MLs

Overall: I really enjoyed the mutual attraction and evenly matched MLs (it wasn't one was constantly abused and the other the abuser or one was super innocent and the other wasn't). Seems to be patterned off the Chinese BL vertical "Caged Bird". 55 short episodes (vertical). Aired on iQIYI app or Shortime app (can eventually watch for free by watching ads, My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus. You can view the first few episodes for free on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0vtefTLhn0

Content Warnings: past murders, attempted murder, attempted rape, torture, violence (including choking, slaps, hits), manipulation, drugging, kidnapping/held against will, non con recording

What I Liked
- the characterization of the 2 MLs, I didn't feel that one was a horrid bully and the other a victim
- intimacy, pretty spicy for a vertical (and included mutual want)
- cliche evil woman who wanted to be his wife (but I did not see how that would end so bonus for doing something different)
- the reason for the past split made sense and their actions based on the information they had in the present

Room For Improvement
- nonsense plot stuff, but that's kind of baked in to this style of vertical so I didn't really take off points for it

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wishes, regrets and love

Overall: this series got me in the feels several times. 12 episodes about 35 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala, https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6336/wishing-upon-the-shooting-star-2026-e01 (not available in Japan, Taiwan or Korea); Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41438c-wishing-upon-the-shooting-stars#about and Youku https://www.youku.tv/v/v_show/id_XNjUxNzIyOTU1Ng==.html ; and iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/wishing-upon-the-shooting-stars-2026-1ytj5n9hiid?lang=en_us

Content Warning: I'm not sure what it exactly was (update: attempted suicide, it was complicated), you can start episode 1 at 1m5s to skip it and then start episode 12 at 17:45, beaten up/fight/punches

What I Liked
- ocean side, small-town vibe
- supportive uncle
- some mystery
- a character who was forthright at the end of episode 2
- intimacy
- the fortune teller like woman/author had a very unique style that we rarely see in media

Room For Improvement
- I was a bit confused who the two characters were in the flashback but I did get it figured out
- episode 6 was too delayed to show what the deal was in the past
- didn't make sense why he would agree to pay that giant fine
- cliche female character in the past
- in the finale they tried to do too much with the scifi/fantasy element and it felt corny

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mixed feelings

Overall: there was something pretty sinister with the plot. 4 episodes 10 minutes each. Airing on GND Studio YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UjFgW8TJEfcBaYLr8jyN_Dn00ScQ6CW&si=GCBj-UKy7QQwzd0w

Content Warning: manhandling, manipulation/intimate partner emotional abuse/grooming, minor/non-minor relationship, teacher/student relationship

What I Liked
- visuals
- tension in the past

Room For Improvement
- the one guy was super manipulative in the past and then in the present as well, and my heart broke for the other guy in episode 4, I don't trust the researcher guy to not be manipulative again

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dark supernatural series

Overall: if you do not enjoy scary movies, then I would recommend steering clear of this. I appreciated that the plot was different from most fluffy romance BL series. 13 episodes about 55 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/1jlxfsemc40?sh_pltf=4&lang=en_us and the first episode was on Change2561 YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc3B9DM2kKP7Eh7SULRh_-5aKWFeCqVnx&si=uzVxyQ3ieerov9Hg (not in Japan or Korea)

Content Warnings: there are a ton of them including past and current murders, blood and repeated gruesome images

Note: I was going to try to do timings to focus on romance and take out the content warnings but it was impossible. Where they frequently meet at the police station you can see gruesome images on the wall behind them. Romance of the main pair kicks into high gear in episode 6.

What I Liked
- production value (especially the makeup/costuming for the scary elements)
- mystery/supernatural element
- tension

Room For Improvement
- there were several nonsense actions/because the writer said so things, episode 12 was a ton of ridiculousness that pulled me out of the story
- did not like how characters didn't believe their romantic partners, the romance sometimes fell flat compared to the horror
- unless I missed it, I'm not clear on why the 2nd CP broke up so I couldn't root for their relationship since it seemed kind of doomed because I didn't know that they fixed whatever sank it the first time

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The Hidden/Slow Plot (uncut version)

Overall: the first episode made me intrigued but it devolved into a non thrilling/confusing mess. Aired 10 episodes about 45 minutes each on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/17g7rz51mczkxkf-The%20Hidden%20Moon/a4100mvcw5u-EP01A%3A%20The%20Hidden%20Moon (uncut episodes were about 10 minutes longer)

Content Warnings: death, attempted suicide, sexual assault/rape?, self harm, scary images, violence, blood, mental health struggles, choking

Watch Suggestions (suggest watching the cut version except where noted, this focuses on sweet moments between the leads)
- watch episode 1
- episode 3 watch part 2 beginning-3; part 3 beginning-1:15, all of part 4
- episode 4 watch all of part 1; part 2 start at 7:12; part 3 beginning-4 and all of part 4
- watch episode 5 part 1 4:30-end
- watch all of episode 6 uncut, they cut out kissing/implied sex
- episode 7 watch part 1 16-end, part 3 3:40-end and can watch all of part 4
- episode 8 watch part 1 before the credits for a quick kiss (uncut version has a longer kiss but it's more of a dead fish lip press) and 12:20-13:15
- skip episode 9
- watch episode 10 uncut from 40:20-43

What I Liked
- intriguing premise with mystery/horror/supernatural elements
- at least they asked why the ghost sensitive one wasn't seeing them
- sweet moments especially in episode 6
- supportive mom
- some of the production value* (the off key music at the end and then the music at the end was especially fitting)

Room For Improvement
- *choppy at times (even in the uncut version it felt a little choppy)
- confusing and slow plot
- Khen and a friend had several moments that made me ship them which was especially bad because the other ML wasn't introduced until the very end of ep 1 (this was less an issue in the cut version)
- odd that a character went from trying to kill another character to suddenly liking him and then back to hating him, did not feel chemistry between the leads
- did not care at all about the drama in the past and it was confusing because a character made it sound like she didn't want something but then she seemed to want that when she talked to her friend later
- I was going to give this a 7 but the very confusing/rushed finale/dead fish lip press dropped it to a 5 (the uncut adds 9 minutes at the end but it basically shows Mas and Khen almost meeting and how Khen was recruited to join the rest of the group and go to that house, they aren't together)
- the idea that Mas would watch reincarnated Khen grow up and then get together with him when he was 40 and Khen was 20 was icky (this is how the cut version ended)

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well done realistic movie

Overall: two realistically flawed characters and friends work to figure out what they want in their lives. Watched on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3082/made-on-rooftop-2020

Content Warnings: hit with a broom, grief

What I Liked
- character growth from the two main characters
- Sunja was awesome, favorite lines "get your shit together" and "you are pretty but you need to do more than just talk"
- how Min Ho was direct and sought to communicate (though didn't appreciate some of his comments in the Live)
- their friendship felt realistic, they both got annoyed with and supported each other
- cute moments
- funny moments (I snorted at the beans)
- production value
- the symbolism of the plants on the rooftop

Room For Improvement
- the beginning was unnecessarily confusing because of showing the present, flashback and then present again without clear time jumps
- he didn't know the password? but maybe that shows how their communication/relationship wasn't the best
- wanted a little more communication around what Bong Shik revealed, it didn't need to be preachy but many people are mis or uninformed and I think it was a missed opportunity (i.e. he could explain what he was taking and what the risks would be)
- I needed a bit more closure/less open ending with 1 couple

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cute follow up

Overall: this takes place directly after episode 12 with the focus on the main couple. Watched on Gagaoolala, also on Viki.

Content Warnings: none

What I Liked
- cute moments (the jealousy, kissing, outfits, hairstyle, cuddle, etc)
- interesting concept for a special episode
- neutral on the season 1 flashbacks, it was maybe helpful to remind people of a couple of key moments but also kind of felt like filler

Room For Improvement
- I'm kind of confused with what the phone did because then doesn't that mean the 2nd hop would have changed their future?

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poignant and sweet, a really well done short BL series (minor spoilers)

Overall: I really enjoyed this more realistic/subdued BL (similar to Life Love on the Line). This is based on a manga but I'm rating it on its own. Watched on Viki.

Content Warnings: non con kiss (sleeping), dub con kissing, manhandling, trespassing, theft? (I don't consider the 10 year age gap or boss/employee to be a content warnings based on how things went)

What I Liked
- acting (I especially liked that Togawa was snotty when crying which is realistic)
- cute and caring moments, also a few really funny moments
- the food/desserts!
- cinematography (that long take scene at the end of episode 4 was amazing)
- although Nozue made more changes, I liked that Togawa also made a change in episode 5 based on what Nozue had said previously
- the subtle vibe
- good intro and song, as well as other music to fit the mood

Room For Improvement
- there were two times when I was so happy that Togawa respected Nozue's boundaries and then Togawa violated those boundaries which was disappointing
- the series would have benefited from a slightly longer run time (the abrupt and unknown time jump at the end as an example)
- a missed humor opportunity in episode 3, they could have shown Togawa frantically trying to clean up
- I think we should have had at least 1 kiss in episode 5, especially considering their ages

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