BL Compilations

a confident King goes thru the ringer

Overall: I give the production large props for tackling several realistic issues; however, there were too many plot threads for them to develop them all well. Aired 8 episodes about 30 minutes each on ANIMA Studios YouTube channel. Here is the playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMPz9QG8YAxIjGoPfHFugXYAbumaqC0Cj&si=4tZjYcP2X4JCgqlO

Content Warnings: past suicide, grief, hate crime, blood, homophobia, transphobia (including repeated dead naming), manhandling, non con picture taking, unwanted public outing, slap (the series needed more trigger warnings on the intro screen as I could see many things being very triggering for some people)

What I Liked
- the intro with some historical information included, integrated historical people in with the present
- an outspoken character that felt like a real person and not a stereotype
- queer representation including a trans female character (and something else but it's a spoiler)
- characters used stereotypes to determine who was queer and then called themselves out about it
- addressed realistic issues like homophobia/transphobia
- some sweet moments and the flag/scene at the end was excellent
- supportive friends, grandma & a dad
- production value

Room For Improvement
- hope that friend was fine in episode 1 when the dean was yelling at them and a character did something suddenly, would have been nice to see a check in about that
- odd that the first thing the grandma says to a grandson she presumably hasn't seen in awhile is to ask what his preferred sexual position was
- the water rescue trope where it was so shallow it looked like he could stand
- a terrible "plan" related to the pool
- what the mom did in episode 4 that isn't really addressed
- in episode 4 it wasn't as emotional as it could have been because they at first weren't clear what happened in the past and they hadn't established that character
- too many plot threads/antagonists, weren't able to develop all of them really well
- in episode 5 it wasn't clear what Lili told her friend
- as much as I hated Marco's actions, Lili saying "nobody loves you" went too far, maybe it was a translation error
- kind of making fun of getting consent in episode 6
- I understand why King said, "it's okay to be (spoiler)" but he should have checked in with that character first (ep 7)

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Close Friend season 2 was okay

Overall: we have a continuation of my least favorite plot combined with my most favorite plot from season 1. I thought the first episode was a solid start, but it fell into some cliched writing/characters.

Content Warnings: something related to the 1st season with Jedi and Ray, non con (photos/posting, live streaming), dub con kissing turned consensual

What I Liked
- nice recaps of the stories from season 1
- integrated the two stories well
- was happy to see 2 established couples
- the cute moments
- the funny moments like when Ray was describing the real Jedi
- happy we saw a morning kiss between Ray & Jedi
- the friendship between Ray & Typhoon
- that Jedi fought for his relationship
- good production value
- enjoyed the behind the scenes clips

Room For Improvement
- Ray really needed a hobby or a job, he felt like a very immature character and it was difficult for me to root for their relationship
- Typhoon's lack of agency was disappointing when he didn't want to go home, also thought the plotline with the parents could have been done better
- not into the Jedi/Ray revelation about season 1
- that vanishing effect in episode 5 felt like they were ghosts
- odd scene with Typhoon and Pierce working out but sounding like something else, the mom opens the door and then is shocked that they are...actually working out???

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Swing and a miss, best episode is #6

Overall, this series was a major miss. Storylines were cliched and the 4 Queer ones were serious/depressing. I really disliked how characters crossed over into different episodes but the timeline wasn't correct, it made it even more disjointed. It would have been better if no characters were in the other episodes and then they could put the episodes in whatever order they wanted. I averaged the scores and it ended up at 7/10, but this might be generous. 

Episode 1 - "Would You Be My Love" (re-named to "Bullying & More Bullying") 8/10
Well this was a rough way to start the series. Personally I would have started with a fluffier episode but...yeah. I really hope this kind of bullying doesn't exist but I'm sure it does. Ozone could have fired a couple of comebacks at least about how close the 2 goons were... The actor is 17 and I would have preferred he was 18, but the physical affection was 1 kissing scene so it doesn't bother me that much. Both main actors did a good job (as usual Earth is a pro at crying). I dislike ghosting/refusing to communicate with someone and it felt a bit slow. Content warning: bullying

Episode 2  - "Rhythm's Heart" 8.5/10
This was a nice m/f romance plot. It was great to see Yacht play a non-comedic role. Pimdao's dad was amazing. Didn't like Wawa ignoring Pimdao's no answer.

(content warning - I'm going to use a word related to non-con)
Episode 3  "Remember" (re-named to "Hot Mess") 4/10 (all 4 points are for Samantha's acting, lol, the mom was great too)
What a hot mess. I'm not even really sure what actually happened. Sounds like Jaidee purposefully got Tac drunk to sleep with him (so that's rape), then took a picture and texts it to Tac to break them up (he mentions blackmail too). Tac for some reason can't say in 5 seconds "she got me super drunk, raped me and blackmailed me" or text that and instead says "let me explain" and "I'm sorry" a bunch of times. I think he even initially denied it was him...Then 1 year later (so strange, it should have been a few months, why would Jaidee wait that long to flirt with Proud...) Jaidee & Proud become friends then more, but then everything hits the fan and Proud refuses to let anyone actually explain what is going on. Add in a slap, grabs, shoves and vandalism (was that Tac and the flat tire???), and a cliffhanger/unresolved ending, uggggghhh. It was also inconsistent characterization because both Jaidee & his friend Rhythm talked about Tac being a player, but yet he claims that Proud is the love of his life, wth? Also Tac thought there was a relationship between Proud & Jaidee and didn't want to interfere and let Proud be happy.... be happy with the person who raped and blackmailed him???!!!! Proud shouldn't be with either of them. In my alternate version of this episode, Proud's scummy boyfriend did cheat on her (not drunkenly, not with Jaidee), they break up, then later Proud and Jaidee fall in love and live happily ever after.

Episode 4: "Once Upon A Time" (re-named to "Awfully Angsty") 6.5/10
Ugggghhhhhhh. For me to be happy with the ending (post credits) they needed to do two things which they didn't do 1. They needed to set up/flesh out Balloon/Mek's relationship, shown the good parts of it so that I wanted to root for them to make it work despite their flaws and 2. They needed to show character growth/change so their relationship would work, i.e. a very public kiss at the airport initiated by Balloon and Mek communicating better. Neither was done so I was not satisfied post credits. The female character part should have totally been cut and then they could have done the above two things. Here's more of what I didn't like:
- overused plot point that both sons are attracted to men
- overused plot point of a homophobic father yelling at his son
- Balloon just letting his dad tear into his brother Ozone and secretly listening in, Balloon's a senior in college not a middle schooler, seriously grow a pair and help out your younger brother
- Balloon cry shaming Ozone "you're a grownup now, why are you still crying like a baby" He's crying because his/your dad is a homophobic jerk and you didn't help him out!
- Balloon saying that orphan Mek will never understand. That was such a low blow. There are things you say to a partner that even saying sorry is not enough, it destroys the relationship and that is either one of those things or very close.
- Balloon having a heart to heart with Ozone but still starting off as "a friend of mine..."
- Ozone incorrectly apologizes for their dad being a homophobic jerk (Ozone says he's sorry for putting Balloon in this position)
- both Mek & Balloon say that they are always honest with one another when it is shown that neither of them is ever honest with the other person...
- non-logic, why does no-one ask Balloon why he's wearing a ring on a necklace? If my friend or sibling was wearing one, I'd be like - what's up with the ring, who are you dating? Also, there is no flashback scene when they exchange rings which would have been nice to include.
- that was 53 seconds before the credits of 2 people standing very close, staring at each other and not saying a word... almost a whole minute of...nothing...

Episode 5:  "Breakup Zone" (re-named to "Will You Be My Love") 8/10
Well that kiss was terrible, but I like friends to lovers stories.

Episode 6: "VS Love" (re-named to "Justice For All") 9/10
Overall this is my favorite episode with a focus on justice and also a protagonist who isn't stupid (yes, cell phones can take pictures and record audio/video!). I would say this is very light BL in that the romance is not very obvious but towards the end you can tell that they are more than platonic friends. Content warning for a couple of fight scenes/intimidation.

Episode 7: "50% My Puppy Love" (re-named to "Stalker Love") 6/10
So we have the typical and annoying love at first sight without talking to the person/getting to know them at all. Almost all of the score is because of Perth.
What I didn't like:
- I'm hoping it was the subtitles but his friend said "she's cute, she's interesting and she belongs in my collection" which yuck. People are not objects that you collect.
- The stalker behavior (that takes place over a semester/year): drawing her picture, stalking her on social media, pinning a photo of her up on the wall, getting her snacks for a prolonged time without writing his name...
- the fact that he only got mad that his friend was a player when it involved a girl he liked, he didn't care before that
- the absolutely cliched lack of communication, jumping to stupid conclusions and ghosting friendsIn the end she was also a stalker without a single spine bone, so I guess it's a match made in heaven.

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miscategorized and not compelling

Overall: this has the BL tag on Shortime which it is definitely not. The protagonist is the woman who runs the cafe. There is an established m/m couple that gets barely any screen time. 45 short episodes with episodes 1-4 being free to watch.

Content Warning: past bullying, harassment, homophobia, unwanted public outing, threats

What I Liked
- visuals

Room For Improvement
- the writers didn't make me care about the FL
- the homophobia (a character said "it's gross")
- love triangles

If you watch on Shortime, 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) and it should get you a bonus

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want the actors in something with a better script

Overall: a bunch of naked cheaters cheating and then a bad ending. Aired on Oxin's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcQaxIPsTWdP_1uuhVXkVaaxr5TmueZtn&si=SGTmK7pr9iDMy-6o

Content Warnings: voyeurism, shove, non con touching, punches, homophobia, coercion, blackmail, ex-partner abuse, sexual assault, non con recording/sharing

What I Liked
- the step mom
- fishing setting
- visuals
- the director is in the series

Room For Improvement
- it made no sense to give a romantic main lead a nice, visibly pregnant girlfriend, why didn't they just have him be single?, the audience learned something very important way too late (end of episode 7)
- the innuendo/crassness was too much
- started with a flash forward
- having sex while sleeping seemed pretty nonsense to me
- some of the music didn't fit like goofy music during a serious scene
- felt like they used the first take for every scene
- a character did something completely nonsense and out of character
- there was no emotional punch due to the ai generated content in the finale and what characters had done before
- the ending (see my spoiler comment), I generally dislike this type of ending because I want the writer/s to commit and it feels like having it both ways

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loss and love

Overall: an enjoyable short indie series about a situation that is not frequently shown. 4 episodes about 10 minutes each. Aired on Secret of Us Official YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BSona1dmx4H7qAsET9W5qnlsd3cpJ1_&si=pwUbEhFWaq9L4_oQ - they also made Infidelity, It's a Disease.

Content Warnings: past death, grief, self harm, blood, suicidal ideation/attempted suicide, non con turned consensual?, beaten up off screen, blood

What I Liked
- chemistry/tension
- centered on the 2 leads
- how my initial impression of each of them changed
- rarely told story of loving again

Room For Improvement
- started with a flash forward
- some scenes were very dark and they needed more light on the actors' faces
- that the non/dub con had been clearly consensual
- rushed ending

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an odd tourism ad (watch suggestions)

Overall: I would say this was a tourism ad with a paper thin BL plot but I'm not sure 4 people stalking 2 other people is appealing for people thinking of visiting a location...About 40 minutes long, aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/ccbor389y01264p-Bali%20Hai/g4100oasloe-EP01%3A%20Bali%20Hai

Content Warnings: stalking, vomiting

Watch Suggestions (takes out the stalking and focuses on the leads)
- watch 5:40-6:35, 12:05-17:15, 22:10-25:25, 27:30-33:50, 37:50-end

What I Liked
- the ocean/beach vistas
- gave some things to do for visitors to the area
- the imagined scenarios

Room For Improvement
- the caricature characters and their stalking
- normally I would praise representation; however, a character being mute felt like a gimmick, we didn't learn anything about him other than he couldn't speak
- did not feel chemistry with the leads
- open ending (if this turns out to be a series, then I'll update this review/rating)

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a decent special

Overall: 1 hour and 30 minutes continuing the story in Addicted Heroin (Thai adaptation). Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/pgahblq3qny0xuz-Addicted%20Heroin%20(Uncut%20Ver.) and via YouTube membership https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML9gUn_WWWU

What I Liked
- the mom
- sweet moments
- the side couple

Room For Improvement
- the 9 minute recap (start at 12:45)
- Pop didn't tell Hero the truth about what happened with his brother? cousin?
- nonsense with the swat team, no one reported that to the police?
- odd moment with a random woman
- Hero had no character growth, still shown as hot tempered

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a ride (watch suggestions)

Overall: I was mostly entertained but the huge tonal shifts were not for me. I gave this a rating bump because they did attempt something different with the plot even though it was filled with nonsense. 12 episodes about 1 hour each (uncut). Aired uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/2elmpcfm17c?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4 ; aired uncut on GagaOOLala in Germany, UK & Australia - US starting Dec 21st https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4985/the-heart-killers-2024 ; airing uncut? on GMMTV's YouTube channel not in the US, Canada or Japan https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI6Bo6a1yZ8iqQTM_A7AiYxQ&si=R4ODeKuWn7AV-SQh

Content Warnings: murders, blood, manipulation, non con picture taking, blackmail/coercion, non con kissing, harassment, homophobia, bullying, teacher/student relationship/grooming/pedophilia, stalking, beaten up, blood, intimate partner abuse, kidnapping, attempted murder, past murders, vomiting

Watch Suggestions (focuses more on sweet moments with the main couples)
- watch episodes 1-5 (likely won't go back for timings though I overall enjoyed the first several episodes)
- episode 6 stop at 1hr1min30s
- skip episode 7
- episode 8 watch 54-end
- episode 9 watch beginning to 16 and 30 to the end
- episode 10 watch 19-40 and 51-end
- episode 11 watch all or can skip 11:30-18:15
- watch ep 12

What I Liked
- an engaging start
- unique premise (non school setting and actors get to play characters closer to their real age)
- flirting/physical intimacy
- sweet moments
- how characters weren't blushing maidens
- styling
- glad they turned the teacher in and there were consequences for that
- that they subverted a very common trope in ep 12
- director cameo in ep 12
- overall wrapped up well

Room For Improvement
- the huge tonal shifts between sweet cinnamon rolls to cold blooded killers (the graphic dream murdering was too much), did not enjoy the amount of times characters pointed a loaded gun at their love interest and it made it difficult for me to root for the couples
- I've never seen a mechanic with that much grease on their face/body before, felt like a fictional way to say "this person is an auto mechanic"
- some of the sound effects/background music
- a couple of odd mouth/face close up shots
- crashed a grief support group and made a mockery of it on multiple occasions
- too much accordion music
- not a fan of the level of harassment, luckily it ended in episode 4
- random couple in episode 8 when they could have spent more time developing a third couple
- ep 12 poor communication lead to more hurt than if he had just said what his plan was
- a ton of nonsense plot stuff that pulled me out of the story also cliched things such as saying "let me explain" over and over again but not explaining, a character saying "trust me" and another character trusting them because of it

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a prickly guy and a flirty guy

Overall: I gave this an indie/it came from China rating boost. I'm pretty sure these are the official links https://space.bilibili.com/6371459/ Episode 1 is the video released on September 1st and then keep clicking on the videos to the left and then go to the row above (watch right to left). Episodes 11 and 12 are behind a paywall, but I was not about create yet another account.

Content Warning: non con touching, dub con kiss (was drunk, not sure how drunk as it was behind a paywall)

What I Liked
- the hug
- some cute/flirty moments (made the guy touch his abs, kabedon, etc)
- was more than bromance

Room For Improvement
- the near constant loud background music
- they both did voice overs so we'd know what they were thinking/feeling instead of letting their actions tell the story
- the quick recap of current episode at the beginning was confusing (though it did help with episodes 11 & 12)
- that the kiss was when 1 guy was drunk
- ghost subtitles (no background or outline, but at least they did hard code English subtitles)

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more of the same

Overall: I found this 23 minute lacking in showing relationship progression between the two protagonists. It was at least 6 months to a year into dating and that was a lackluster response to having a boyfriend return from a long trip. They felt more like roommates to me. The addition of the stalkery woman writer was cringey. If you want to watch it I'd suggest 6:50-9:42, 12:10-15:28, 16:45 to the end. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4520/takaras-treasure-2024-e11 Here is my review of the series https://kisskh.at/profile/blcompilations/review/371693

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meh enemies to lovers micro series

Overall: Aired on Jinloe's YouTube channel first for members and then later went free for everyone (except episodes 9 & 10 and some episodes were missing subtitles) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIFuZIdAgzTjbXN2ypTCNBGNY0PQQTgxG&si=TmjC1-YF7k_mWZTd Also all episodes are on Jinloe's TikTok with hardcoded subtitles https://www.tiktok.com/@jinloeofficial/playlist/SomeSecretInHighSchool-7424306755129051921

Watch Suggestions
- skip ep 5
- start ep 7 at 1:25

What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- a couple nice moments

Room For Improvement
- "comedy" sound effects
- cliche female character took up too much screentime
- missing subtitles in some episodes on YouTube
- stupid plan
- episode 8 of 10 was too late to start falling in love
- kind of an odd stopping point for the series

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