BL Compilations

clever and funny

Overall: it was fun to see the different perspectives. 3 episodes about 4 minutes each. Produced by Flying Penguin, originally released on Likey. Later released on Shortime app (app info 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)

What I Liked
- the different viewpoints and how it changed the story
- made me laugh
- kissing
- dreams

Room For Improvement
- abrupt ending


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

On the Rewards (popcorn bag icon page)
- check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
- 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

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a heavier series

Overall: this was a grittier story with disappointing pacing/focus. 12 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on: YoYo English YouTube channel (not in Japan or Korea) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTB73Ibi_X3GNyvCGbi8mAefS-Lhep63A&si=iPvnlW2PiAx3AY2f ; GagaOOLala (not in Japan or Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5333/the-sparkle-in-your-eye-2025-e01 and Viki https://www.viki.com/videos/1261379v-the-sparkle-in-your-eye-episode-1

Content Warnings: rape off screen (end of ep 8 and in flashbacks in later episodes), blackmail, non con kissing, non con touching/sexual harassment, manipulation, drugging, vomiting, slap, non con picture taking

Watch Suggestions (to get rid of most of the content warnings, focus on happy/sweet times)
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- episode 3 watch 21:50-end
- episode 4 watch beginning-3:20 and 9:40-10
- episode 5 watch 5:30-16:10
- episode 6 start at 8 min
- watch episode 7
- episode 8 watch 5-15
- skip episode 9
- episode 10 watch 14-16
- skip episode 11
- episode 12 watch 23:50-end

What I Liked
- caring moments
- character growth
- showed a more realistic take on what happens at the end of episode 8

Room For Improvement
- way too much time spent on the antagonist, pacing in general was slow and then the very end was rushed/not enough with the main couple
- a character did something terrible after he knew or could have guessed what happened and then in episode 12 he pressured/ignored a survivor's wishes (I'm not clear that the survivor gave him the go head, though he did realize his wrongness after talking with another character)
- noble idiot trope
- side couple's love story was uninteresting, I didn't see what the director was supposed to have done differently and then suddenly everything was all fine between them
- some lackluster kissing
- nonsense stuff
- (neutral) I tried to not get angry at a character not telling the truth about a smarmy character by realizing that he was also a victim/survivor

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controlling writer and his doe eyed prey

Overall: I did not enjoy the dynamic with the leads and they once again inserted a useless love triangle. Aired on Sukfilm's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwTLtMP5RnShUW6BHVbJmk9R&si=ydgeYlQSObe6tvN4

Content Warning: non/dub con kissing turned consensual

What I Liked
- visuals
- production value was good for an indie series (though the music should be quieter when they were talking)

Room For Improvement
- how the writer was controlling (told him to come home earlier) and made the other guy feel bad for the sticky note, he apologized and said he wouldn't do it again but was again controlling (gave him a curfew)
- love triangle with a much better candidate for a boyfriend
- the naive guy voiced his inner thoughts
- the drunk kissing trope

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writing/marketing miss (watch suggestions)

Overall: they screwed over fans with their misleading marketing (I'll talk more below). Almost 2 hours runtime, make sure to watch the very important scene after the end credits. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/1qz7s34vza0?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4

Content Warnings: attempted murder, violence/fights, blood, kidnapping/held against will, grief

Watch Suggestions (focus on cute moments)
- watch 12-19:45, 24:15-33:50, 35:45-36:20, 39, 1hr9-1hr10m30s, 1hr31m20s-1hr34m

What I Liked
- the actors
- grandma is MVP (most valuable player)
- sweet moments
- kisses
- the dad asked who was the bride and who was the groom and the kid said we don't ask, that's their business
- they at least had one back up plan this time

Room For Improvement
- the marketing was that there was a marriage/sweet moments, but there wasn't an actual marriage and there's been no season 2 announcement, if they had marketed this accurately (angsty/action/comedy with a few sweet moments), actually had a marriage and had a season 2 announcement then my rating would have been higher
- more stupid actions: do police not exist in this universe? bullet proof vests??? how on earth would someone who was shot in the stomach twice survive without major medical intervention????
- the cliffhanger scene after the final credits with no mention of another special or season 2 announcement

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way too many characters and uninteresting plot points

Overall: on brand with nice music, innuendos and way too many characters/plot that I cared nothing about and intended comedy that didn't work. 13 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcQaxIPsTWdN8c6czpNNhuciPMIkpAIH6&si=m9MlfDD-TDMRK8aN Oxin also produced: My Day, Rainbow Prince, My Story, Our Story, Tie the Not, Sky Valley

Content Warnings: sex trafficking/coercion, manipulation, dub con kiss, non con recording, mention of past abuse, hit

What I Liked
- visuals
- easy to understand premise
- chuckled a few times with the innuendo
- supportive sister/sibling relationship
- flirty moments, good being interested in more intimacy
- music
- the line "your lips got tired and laid on her lips?!"
- Xion Lim's cameos and not wearing shirts under his suit jackets

Room For Improvement
- flash forward with voice over start
- too many characters, cared nothing for the creepy manager/plot
- did not find most jokes funny
- 5/3 did not need to see a conversation while one guy was sitting on the toilet (and more toilet humor in the finale)
- camera blocked kissing in 6/4
- liked one pair but then a guy was a jerk in the second part of ep 7/1
- liked the makeup artist but then he tried to guilt his friend into a romantic relationship
- the finale had zero kisses!!!, we got a near kiss and a hug, meh

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poor communication cliche

Overall: it was difficult to root for the couple when they kept hinting at something. Episodes were about 8 minutes each. Aired on Lovememory YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwW9ZsuS2FnYYgDhkvkW1AB3NfnyzYckm Lovememory also produced Twosome Boys

What I Liked
- good kissing
- an established couple

Room For Improvement
- didn't feel chemistry between the leads
- the bad communication trope, just talk for 5 minutes and clear things up!
- maybe there were some language things that weren't translated, but it wasn't clear at the beginning if the two characters were boyfriends or best friends
- most of episode 6 was flashback

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supernatural indie BL

Overall: 4 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on DFJ Entertainment YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkUDyVkT_XranODtshU1r7qE5sOkW-0Nt&si=05L9CVhQcGvkj-EB I suggest for episode 3 to watch 17:30-end and the rest was product placement/flashback.

Content Warnings: hit, past suicide shown (it's complicated)

What I Liked
- supernatural element
- caring moments
- the ending

Room For Improvement
- world building exposition dumps
- spent too much time in flashback on the third episode, could have used that screentime with the main couple in the present
- (neutral) there were comedy sound effects, but didn't feel overwhelming
- (neutral) the subtitles were confusing. I gave them points for adding them, but I think they made the plot more confusing than it was supposed to be. For example in episode 2, why did he invite his friend over just to scare him? There is an extra scene at the end, however, it still didn't make sense.

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a fun comedy vertical series

Overall: note that the focus is more on the contentious relationship of the actors than the romance with the guardian spirits. 30 episodes about a minute each. Watched on the Vigloo app - the first few episodes can be watched here https://www.vigloo.com/video/15000105?season=15000105&episode=1 Vigloo also has: You Want Some, Match Play, Rule #1 No Dating Rule, Love in the Apocalypse

What I Liked
- the guardian spirits and their story
- it made me laugh a few times
- the group hug

Room For Improvement
- too much screaming
- kind of ambiguous with the actors' relationship


How to Watch for Free (episodes are 50 coins each, you can't skip episodes but once unlocked they stay unlocked forever, there are additional tasks to get more coins like following the company on social media)

Day 1
- watched episodes 1-8 (free on the app)
- can watch 10 episodes free with ads, I unchecked the auto unlock, clicked off of that box and another box popped up saying "view ads to watch for free 0/10" (I did that for eps 9-18)
- watched 15 ads per day for 30 coins each on the rewards page and did the daily check in (eps 19-27)

Days 2 & 3
- watched 3 more ads for the last 3 episodes

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very cute spin off (want that historical series asap)

Overall: this 4 episode spin off (eps 9-12 in the YouTube playlist, about 44 minutes in total) was cute. I'm happy that SUKFILM made a series without love triangles/cheating/cliche evil women which are prevalent in their other series. This is my review of eps 1-8 https://kisskh.at/profile/blcompilations/review/385435 Aired on SUKFILM's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwQ_32A8H9oWjdEtXVTWcrja&si=sMchCmQ6G6zL8HKY (I watched as a non-member, normally the membership includes videos with longer kissing scenes).

What I Liked
- sweet/caring moments
- different stories/characters (that historical one definitely needs to be a full series)
- this kissing/intimacy/chemistry, good consent

Room For Improvement
- the constant background music with vocals which were also too loud

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hope to see the actors again

Overall: this was a disappointing special. I do hope to see all of the main actors in another series soon as I think they did a good job with the plot they were given. The special episode was about 53 minutes. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4591/i-saw-you-in-my-dream-2024-e13 and WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/w52tycxawaajel4-I%20Saw%20You%20In%20My%20Dream/u41005rux5c-EP13%3A%20You%20%26%20I%20in%20Our%20Dream

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- good f/f established relationship
- production value

Room For Improvement
- there was zero character growth, 4 years later and they still had poor communication and one character was extremely immature, he intentionally caused the love of his life to be distressed, it wasn't cute or funny
- very odd that the main couple had zero kisses in the special and the side couple had a few quick pecks/some dodging that happened
- nonsense world building, something could suddenly happen that had never happened before, the flashback was a non-explanation
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny

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only 10 minutes of the 20 minute short film

Overall: the production has made the odd decision to release only 10 minutes of the 20 minute short film. They have a fundraising project here https://www.zeczec.com/projects/Prayinlove_BL where people can pay and see the fully 20 minute short film in July. However, they also want to raise funds for the whole series. I think that they should have released a really engaging short film in its entirety for free and used that to fundraise for the series. They also needed to use an international friendly platform (I didn't see an option to change the language on their current site) and include internationally friendly rewards instead of physical goods that no doubt require a lot more money to ship internationally.

The 10 minute short film is here https://youtu.be/JhYUeHrlABw?si=6JDp9miOUEmpVJBc and it was okay. For a BL movie/series, they needed a better start than a guy surrounded by women flirting with him though.

I do think productions could do crowdfunding for BLs, but if they aren't with well known actors in BL or a sequel to something really popular then they need to have a really amazing trailer/hook, be realistic about how much they can raise with crowdfunding and be international fan friendly with reward levels and crowdfunding platform. I recently participated in a BL manhua kickstarter that exceeded its goal by a lot, so the money is out there if the project is done well.

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fashion industry romance with a side m/m couple

Overall: I enjoyed the fashion industry setting, but it became very soap opera like in parts and dragged at times. 10 episodes broken into 2 parts for 50 minutes per episode total. Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/honrgjq1uhtv8gn-Intern%20In%20My%20Heart

Information for the age gap: first met when he was 8 and she was 21ish, in the present he is 20 and she is 33, based on how this played out I didn't include it as a content warning
Content Warnings: near suicide, non con touching, bullying, non con picture taking/sharing

BL Relevant Scenes
1a 9:45-11
2b 17:15-end
3a 5:15-6 & 19:30-21
4a 14-16:30
4b 6:30-7:40 & 14:10-15
5a 12:30-14:15 & 18-20
5b beginning-2:15 & 13-18:10
6a 5-6:10, 8:40-10 & 18-19:30
6b 8:50-10:30, & 12:10-13:40
8a 21:30-23 & 32-end
8b beginning to 3 & 8-13:30
9a beginning-6:30, 8:20-12, 20:30-23:30, 26-end
9b 21-26
10b 18-18:40 & 20-21

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- friendships (though he shouldn't have touched the guy when the guy didn't want him to)
- character growth

Room For Improvement
- exposition dump
- comedy sound effects
- cliche see something and don't clarify what it is
- stupid decisions/unrealistic actions

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enjoyed the movie version more than the series version

Overall: this is a condensed version of the series which was 12 episodes about 40 minutes each = 480 minutes. The movie version is 125 minutes long and I liked it more than the series version because it cut out boring side couple stuff and stuck with the focus of Ai and Nhai. You can read my full review of the series here https://kisskh.at/profile/blcompilations/reviews/233757/ I'm going to point out some differences.

What I Liked
- left out the cute rooftop/coupon scene and there might have been other cute scenes they left out as well
- better ending with the stargazing instead of that random store/shoe tying scene
- had transitions between scenes to help make it feel more cohesive/time had passed (though it can feel a bit choppy)

Room For Improvement: if I had edited this I would have changed a few additional things and then I would have rated it an 8.5
- in the flashback (which I would have shortened) cut out the dads being awful to Ai, the dads lied to him and he has a right to be angry/confused
- added back some of their cute scenes

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Overall: this could have been a 9 or higher if they had made things more clear.

What I Liked
- the sci fi/future aesthetics
- the actors did a good job
- making viewers think about differences between gender, sex and sexual orientation, I find this graphic useful https://au.reachout.com/articles/the-difference-between-gender-sex-and-sexuality

Room For Improvement
- things were just a little too open/not clearly stated, for example, Yi An asks Zhou Yang Kai if he'd like Yi An to be a woman but Zhou Yang Kai doesn't actually respond clearly either way. The ending is fairly open as well, I guess we can infer Yi An's choice but showing Yi An making the selection would have been good so viewers were clear about the decision.

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