BL Compilations

coming of age romance that needed a part 3

Overall: I wish they had just focused on the two protagonists like A First Love Story (South Korea, 2021). Originally aired in 2 parts on Cul Drama YouTube Channel playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTzMpGBkGlIYOyVq-m3cPEdl4LBIh5hjX&si=ap-8RLV2rRZ0eFNA (watch the 8 minute one first and then the 9 minute one)

Content Warning: unwanted outing

What I Liked
- glad he didn't finish what he started at the beginning of episode 1
- sweet moment/tickle fight
- pretty good production value though too much blur filter

Room For Improvement
- cliche female character introduced in part 1
- felt bad for the female character introduced in part 2 as she felt like collateral damage
- the ending of part 2 was still fairly open, they needed 1 more video to wrap everything up
- I didn't take off points but the subtitles are a bit rough, I understood what was happening though

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good chemistry

Overall: it was a simple premise with good chemistry/kissing. 30 episodes in total with each episode about 1 minute each. It took me 3 days to watch the series for free. Aired on the Shortime app by Code Crayon (my invite code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i)) Shortime also has Falling for My Boss.

What I Liked
- the premise
- excellent dreams
- good kissing (no dead fish lip presses)

Room For Improvement
- love rival (would rather have that spent time on the couple)
- whimsical background music didn't fit at times
- wish episodes were a little longer, even 2 or 3 minutes each

Shortimes App Information - Each episode costs 20 popcorn, 4 episodes are free and 26 need to be unlocked, need 520 popcorn to watch the whole series, you can't skip locked episodes and they will re-lock

My Watch For Free Plan
(on the popcorn rewards page) check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
(on the popcorn rewards page, go to the very bottom of the page) = 80, watch all 7 ads each day, have to wait 30 seconds in between ads
(on the popcorn rewards page) turn on notifications = 30 (1 time bonus)
1 friend referral code = 20 (1 time bonus) My invite code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i)
3 random popcorn from the daily random box = 35 (I got 10, 10 and 15, normally it was around 30)
watch 5 episodes each day with ads
- there are other 1 time bonuses like following on social media or making an account so you might be able to finish in 2 days instead of 3 if you did more of the bonuses

Day 1 watch 1-4 (free), 5-16; Day 2 watch 17-27; Day 3 watch 28-30

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not the action I was hoping for

Overall: this 1 hour and 25 minutes follow up was fine, but it was very detective/action heavy and less character focused. Now available to watch on Idol Factory's YouTube channel. The first part of five is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfuX7Ln_m9U&ab_channel=IDOLFACTORYOFFICIAL (currently they don't have a YouTube Playlist)

Content Warnings: deaths, grief, violence/fights, blood, kidnapping

What I Liked
- 1 steamy scene was pretty well done though it could have been a bit longer
- element of fantasy though it felt underdeveloped
- they did explain 1 nonsense plot element that happened in the series which I appreciated
- addressed workplace gender discrimination

Room For Improvement
- main characters did not have any character growth, one was still lying and the other was being overly possessive
- many nonsense law enforcement things that took me out of the story
- odd goofy humor/comedy sound effects combined with a very serious plot
- presence of the little girl was not for me
- production needed to shorten up the time that they released it in Thailand/not international friendly streaming option (May 26th) to when they released it on YouTube (June 27th). At least it was only a day or two after it was for paid channel members that they released it for free on YouTube. The too long of a gap happened with the final episode as well, it would be okay if they just shortened the time between releases i.e. live in person event/thaiticketmajor online streaming May 26th, 1 week later YouTube channel members, 4 days after that free on YouTube

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56 minutes (not a BL)

Overall: I generally give indie productions some leeway but the very ending of this was...a choice... not really sure what message they were trying to convey. Watched on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNtNapJNVeQ

Content Warnings (it's complicated but I'm keeping this spoiler free): intimate partner abuse, held against will, non con touching/sexual assault and something else

What I Liked
- easy to follow plot
- tried to talk about mental health issues
- they uploaded to YouTube and added English subtitles

Room For Improvement
- randomly couldn't swim
- I did not agree with all of the messages around mental health issues, society/the environment is not 100% to blame, biology plays a factor as well
- that ending was not what I was hoping for, it wasn't a funny joke, were they trying to say that pushing/ignoring boundaries/sexual harassment of a coworker was fine???

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skip episodes 3 and 4

Overall: the first two episodes were cute and promising but it went downhill in the 3rd and 4th episodes and it just couldn't recover. They combined 5 of the TikTok episodes into each longer YouTube episode. Aired 7 episodes about 30 minutes each on the Puregold YouTube channel (from what I gather Puregold is a grocery store chain in the Philippines)

Content Warnings: non con video recording and posting, past death

What I Liked
- a few central characters
- the dad (initially)
- that they explained the word Plantito towards the beginning (a guy who likes plants/gardening)
- cockroach scene
- eventually explained about Mico's sister
- Mico's abs

Room For Improvement
- they needed to show why Mico and Charlie liked one another, more bonding moments and less Bianca time
- before my rant, I need to say that video recording someone against their will and publicly posting it could get a survivor of intimate partner violence killed
- disliked several characters in eps 3 and 4, I was enjoying Charlie's dad but then his answer to Charlie's illegal actions was 'don't worry if you get sued I'll get you a good lawyer' like WTH?!? Charlie was obsessed with making money but we didn't have any real indication that they are poor until episode 6 so he came across as very self-centered/materialistic. Bianca gave awful advice but Charlie was a grown adult and could make his own decisions. And after being rightfully yelled at, Charlie didn't even do what was instructed (he hid them instead of deleting them which are not the same thing). Then he wallowed in self pity. He didn't seem sad about missing a chance to date Mico, more that he wouldn't be popular/make money with his vlog
- kind of a dig with the comment that his neighbor seemed too big to be a trans man in episode 1
- hiring Charlie as a social media manager made zero sense
- rushed ending

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short and sweet BL series

Overall: this is a small production with some rough subs, but definitely worth a watch. Watched on YouTube https://youtu.be/2DDL0oXS9Us

Content Warnings: manipulation, maybe colorism (he says 'dark bastard' in ep 1 but the translations aren't great so maybe it wasn't translated correctly)

What I Liked
- the OST is really good and they have a MV of the two leads singing it
- funny and cute moments
- that puppy was adorable
- good continuity with injury, i.e. he wasn't healed the next scene or day
- the setting/cinematography at the end with them sitting on the rock was really nice

Room For Improvement
- there are some non logical things, like not untangling keychains right then or the cliche thing in the final episode
- too many comedy sound effects
- the subs are pretty rough/missing, but it's enough so you know what's happening and I appreciate that they did add subs

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not a fluffy series like the trailer indicated

Overall: I had to adjust my mindset when the first episode took a dark turn towards the end. Although the series had promise, it had too many characters/plot points with not enough run time. Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: (not between m/m ship) stalking, non con taking photos, violence, manhandling, teacher/student relationship between side characters

What I Liked
- some cute moments
- the opera music on their date
- the release schedule of 1 episode a day for 6 days, makes it easy to binge if wanted
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the idiocy of not telling the police right away (also that they all relax and think it's solved when it's not...)
- why does Ro-A like Ji-Woo, we don't even see a "love at first sight" scene (we finally see one in episode 5, I'm still not satisfied)
- love triangle/s
- weird plot with the other female classmate and the professor
- super cliche ending makes me want them not to be together

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30% Eating, 70% Traveling, 85% Win Being An Immature Jerk (YouTube version)

Overall: this is yet another plot where a 1 minute conversation would have cleared up poor communication. It is especially infuriating because the two people involved have been lifelong best friends... Watched on YouTube (the re-edited by director Aof)

Content Warnings: off screen side character death in flashback, manhandling, punch/kick, non con touching (sleeping), non con? touch/kiss (using another body)

What I Liked
- the intro animation/sequence
- the cute moments
- the funny moments
- Korn did 1 smart thing regarding the water

Room For Improvement
- Win is a jerk and unfortunately did not have character growth. Grieving does not give you the right to scream at people and drag them around.
- the misogyny of constantly portraying Lin's body as weak (she can't even drive a car?!) If they had explained that she had a chronic illness then this would have been fine, but instead, her body is continually referred to as weak. Also, I didn't like how the pms was portrayed, it feeds into stereotypes that all women become very emotional when having their period (which apparently lasts 1 day lol). While some people do become more emotional, for many women you don't even know they are having their period... They could have just stuck with the painful cramps.
- the cliche miscommunication/lack of communication, and saying "you know how I feel" is NOT the same as actually saying how you feel
- non logical things (there is no one else on the farm that knows how to do that procedure??? The doctor couldn't find a short video on youtube and do that???)
- stupid decisions by several characters
- mom's instant forgiveness
- this truly awful line/sentiment "you have to listen to the older generation and when they are gone you can do what you want" (but younger generations have to live with the consequences of the older generations decisions, ugh)

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short and sweet

Overall: A soft 25 minute story about a college tutor and his high school tutee. You can find this on YouTube.

Content Warning: under 18 (assuming, but he could have been 18) and an over 18 year old. Personally, this didn't bother me as their age gap is two or three years and the younger one made the first move. 

What I Liked
- the montage to show that time had passed and they became friends
- I didn't like how it came about, but I actually liked the direction this went and was fine with the ending
- that Tone was clear about his sexual orientation (though the word wasn't subbed, I can guess what it said), but sad he showed internalized homophobia
- Pun doesn't say a lot at the end, but when you think carefully about how he was struggling with school, how he must have worked hard and then selected that college, it says quite a bit

Room For Improvement
- although I kind of understand the sister's reaction, I wish she would have been honest with her brother. Instead, she flat out lies to him when he asks her if she said anything to Tone. She didn't want to be the "bad guy" and made it so it looked like Tone was the jerk. Thankfully, Pun wasn't a moron and saw through things. 
- the subtitles have errors but you can understand what is going on, from 15:20-16 the subtitles are missing, turn on auto translate from the Korean subs to English and it works or check the comments

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Cute 15 min film

Overall: short & sweet. Able to watch on GagaOOLala for free https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3498/delivery-boy-2019 and also officially on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL6MbI2dHzw

Content Warnings: none

What I Liked
- fun jokes/lines such as, I'll bring the glue to put together your broken heart
- the symmetry of Eric wearing the jacket at the end that Chun Ho wore at the beginning
- loved the song he danced to towards the beginning
- his friend Jasper is amazing and that last shot is hilarious

Room For Improvement
- it would have been fun if Eric actually spoke the language and heard what the Chun Ho said when the bag of oranges fell (and we find that out later on)
- some improbable moments/lines

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cooking and cuteness (please give fans an international release)

Overall: I was hooked right away on the characters and their dynamic. 10 episodes about 25 minutes each. No official international release.

Content Warning: kind of non con pulling, spying, attempted violence

What I Liked
- clear premise
- their dynamic
- sweet moments
- the food/cooking
- interesting characters
- *supportive friends

Room For Improvement
- wish what happened the end of 8 had happened an episode or 2 earlier so we could have seen a character's conversation with his dad on screen instead of off screen and also instead of a montage at the end we should have seen those scenes play out
- not clear about how much time passed in episode 9 but I was frustrated with 1 character's indecision for what felt like a longer amount of time
- *the friend overstepped boundaries and took up too much screentime, it wasn't funny that they were basically stalking their friend
- repeated misleading cliffhanger endings
- sick from the rain trope
- the final press kiss, I was fine with the earlier one but the last one seemed a tad too chaste given their relationship at that point
- (neutral) a love rival but thankfully handled it well
- unfortunately there was no international release (didn't take off points)

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