BL Compilations

a mixed bag

Overall: the first story was adorable, though that vibe didn't last. Not sure why so many characters ignored boundaries, but it was not romantic. 8 different stories, each in 2 parts about 15 minutes total per storyline. Aired on Strongberry YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNd7BhdAz80ptzaxeYXbVCLVXH7JXtely&si=_AO3vgmNtpY2d-vI - later aired 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. Note each episode is 120 popcorn which is pretty expensive/will take a while to watch for free on Shortime.

Story 1: Want To Grow It? rating 9 (strangers)
Super adorable, focuses on 2 characters with an easy to understand story. Good production value.

Story 2: Folding You, rating 8 (university students, 1 is quirky)
This was quirky, didn't feel the chemistry as much.

Story 3: Sweet Mischief, rating 7 (servant contract/blackmail)
The blackmail wasn't cute nor was seeing several uncomfortable kisses.

Story 4: Sleep Around Still Mine, rating 8.5 (friends with benefits)
Overall well done, though they could have cut the ghosting.

Story 5: Craving You, rating 8 (actor/manager)
Not a fan of the non/dub con kiss in the first part and the change seemed sudden.

Story 6: Not a BL, rating 7.5 (coworkers)
Bad that he didn't explain what the job would be. Not sure if the owner was helping?

Story 7: Something Sweet, rating 7 (trying to get into university)
Not a fan of repeatedly ignoring boundaries and the non con kiss.

Story 8: A Killer Recipe, rating 8.5 (former boyfriends)
I was a bit confused and needed a little more explanation. Note, likely murder off screen and blood shown.

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a comedy with great chemistry

Overall: I enjoyed the chemistry with both couples. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. There was a bonus scene at the end of episode 1 and also 10. Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/ev770x3txo1kfou/l41011jleaz-EP01%3A_Me_and_Who

Content Warnings: attempted murder, death off screen, manipulation

What I Liked
- chemistry
- sweet/caring moments
- cameo of the Khemjira leads Keng and Namping
- Knock Knock Boys on the tv
- they avoided a cliche in episode 9
- redemption arc for two characters

Room For Improvement
- not good world building: there was a large assumption made by a character in episode 1 and there were inconsistencies in the rules that they set
- nonsense stuff like going to bed with sleep masks but leaving a bright light on, leaving the curtain to the bedroom open when they don't want the butler to know what is happening, perfect hair when they woke up in the morning, one dead peacock that seemed to travel to every room the characters were in (update, I must have missed it on my first watch but it's Apo's "sleeping buddy" and they show him moving with it, I didn't take off any points in my review for this part lol)
- I did not laugh at most of the comedy (including toilet humor) as it went on
- the 'let me explain' and doesn't explain/the other person leaves without an explanation

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I really wanted to like it

Overall: I was super excited when the series was first announced to have a lead in a m/m romance series love to wear high heels, be confident, etc; however, the mediocre writing let the actors down. This is based on a webtoon that I haven't read and I am reviewing the series on its own merits. 13 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/i-m-the-most-beautiful-count-episode-1-1hwby7xm14c?lang=en_us and YouTube (initially georestricted) https://youtu.be/JW3Sni7GJK0?si=Rn-vf6SAfAvJ1lRe and later released the uncut version on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc3B9DM2kKP4EegqnIzsaSDs6QYjvE7cs

Content Warnings: slaps/hits, attempted murder, multiple murders/deaths, blood, drugging, queerphobia, violence, manipulation, past bullying

What I Liked
- that the lead wore stilettos, had long nails and was sassy
- historical setting
- styling
- talking about queerphobia, inequality
- sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- the switches between slapstick comedy and massacre of innocent people was jarring
- a common stereotype of effeminate men/trans women in media is hypersexualized/handsy and comic relief but in the 'laugh at you' and not 'laugh with you' kind of way. Unfortunately, the writers reinforced both of these with their lead character. Even more jarring is that the series is trying to call out inequality and queerphobia yet engages in writing stereotypical characters. I do not blame the actors at all. 
- the writers were maybe trying to portray Kosol as stoic but he came across as abusive and violent especially in the first few episodes
- it was supposed to be a comedy but I rarely laughed, it has many comedy sound effects that didn't enhance the humor
- love triangles/love rivals/jealousy (the main one took 10 of 13 episodes to resolve)
- I liked the side couple a bit but not how the one with more power commanded the other guy to do things on several occasions
- no one told 1 character a plan in episode 11
- the fake out in episode 13
- note: at 7m 30s in episode 6 when the character said 'kathoey' it was translated as trans woman. They should have left it as 'kathoey' or maybe used 'ladyboys or him say "I am a queen" because trans woman was not an accurate translation.

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His Manchild Sorn (uncut version with watch suggestions)

Overall: though we heard characters say Jun pranks/ed Sorn, we never saw that. Instead we saw Sorn being a manchild and one sided bullying/intimate partner emotional abuse. Nothing was ever Sorn's fault, it was always someone elses, there was zero responsibility-taking. With some tweaks, I would have rated this much higher. The series is adapted from the book "Nai Hia Bok Mai Chop Dek" by Nang Sao Phop which I have read but I reviewed the series on its own merits (notes about how they mucked up the adaptation at the end of this review). 12 episodes about 50 minutes each. Airing uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/my-stubborn-episode-1-1vk3bdn96z8?lang=en_us and cut on MFlow's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b12PV1m9pP8&ab_channel=MFlowEntertainment MFlow also produced: Time, Beyond the Star, Tin Tem Jai, AiLongNhai, Second Chance and Coffee Melody.

Content Warnings: non/dub con kissing/touching, voyeurism, drugging, punches, bullying, intimate partner emotional abuse, hits, manhandling

Watch Suggestions (to remove most of Sorn being an asshole and uninteresting side characters/plot)
- episode 1 watch beginning-27:50
- watch all of episode 2
- episode 3 watch beginning-13:45, 27-35:35, 37:50-54
- episode 4 watch beginning-5:30
- episode 5 watch 11-20:45, 23:30-24:5, 35:10 to the end
- episode 6 watch 5:25-6:30, 7:15-8:30, 20-23 gl, 27:30-35:25, 37:45-end
- episode 7 watch 5:40-9:50, 20:20-21:30 and continue for the GL, 30-33, 37-44
- episode 8 watch 17-18 and 29-41:45
- skip episode 9
- episode 10 watch 9:30-13:10, 34:50-35:20 and 39:20-end
- episode 11 watch 13:15-19:30 and 21:45-31:15
- episode 12 watch 17:50-end

What I Liked
- attention getting intro*
- tension
- NSFW scenes were pretty well done with facial expressions/sounds**
- the camera shot of the escalators with a character going up and the other going down
- Jun's dad and sister
- Sorn's mom and brother
- good conversation about sexual position preferences

Room For Improvement
- *the intro scene felt kind of random, and then there was a separate situation that seemed not connected from that time but the characters discussed the past as if it was just 1 incident and not 2
- character cards to introduce characters instead of naturally showing the audience their traits
- felt choppy at times (daylight went to full nighttime in a few minutes in ep 7)
- nonsense stuff like not contacting someone because they lost their phone as if social media doesn't exist, **an unusual amount of neck kissing then a character saying he couldn't breathe when he wasn't being kissed on the mouth at all, school aged children working at a coffee shop during the school day, Jun being extremely drunk and then suddenly sober, Win didn't hear something when he very close, pink lighting in the same bathroom that never had it previously, a beard that looked like it was drawn on by a toddler
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny
- Sorn let Jun be punched multiple times before intervening because he wanted to teach him a lesson about not kissing people when Sorn was kissing someone?!? Sorn tells other people to treat Jun like an adult when he himself treats Jun like a child, Sorn kicked Jun's leg and hit his mouth for looking at his brother
- what Sorn did in episode 4 was terrible and a few apologies/buying food didn't fix it for me
- the side m/m couple's progression made no sense and they virtually disappeared for a few episodes, they don't talk to each other when they should have and then it got very controlling "you are my wife" stuff
- the side f/f couple's progression/relationship in the first half didn't make much sense and they also disappeared
- the side m/f couple's relationship was boring to watch
- in episode 5 Jun told Sorn to stop multiple times and Sorn didn't, in episode 7 Jun was hitting Sorn as if saying to stop and Sorn continued
- some odd/close up shots
- love rivals including in the finale, could have spent that time elsewhere

Note for ages: Jun was 19 (i.e. in university) in the first scene and Sorn was 24. In the present, Jun is 21 and Sorn is 26. The actors are 30 and 28. I have no issue with the age gap.

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 think about:
1. was there a realistic reason why the character/s acted the way they did in the past (there was no reason given why Sorn was an asshole/abusive towards Jun)
2. how bad was/is the treatment (emotionally abusive with ignoring Jun's boundaries multiple times, controlling Jun's actions or saying things were Jun's fault that weren't his fault, made Jun look really bad at work, Sorn allowed Jun to get punched multiple times to teach Jun a lesson that Sorn himself ignored)
3. were both characters grey or was one squeaky clean (Jun was pretty squeaky clean, he had a go with the flow energy)
4. was there some kind of apology/amend making (verbal apologies and bought Jun food in ep 5 for 1 instance, the later apology was awful and said Jun should know that Sorn was bad at apologies, wtf?!)
5. was there character growth (no, Sorn continued to ignore Jun's boundaries, was controlling/too possessive)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (no, because the emotional abuse will make Jun miserable)
final verdict: I don't want them together, Jun will be miserable, he still looked miserable/reluctant a lot of the time

Some Differences Between the Book & The Series
- in the book in the past they did show how both Sorn and Jun pranked each other, it felt much less 1 sided bullying in the book
- the book did not have GL and Sorn clearly explained his past relationship with Penny
- the book did not have Sorn smiling as Jun got into trouble in episode 4, Sorn was horrified that it had gone that far and made amends better in the book
- the book has a reason why Sorn does not like people younger than himself, they did eventually give the reason but it wasn't as clear as in the book
- Sorn also had a good reason for losing contact, TBD if they talk about this in the series
- Jun is really into Sorn in the book and is not frequently reluctant like he is in the series
- the 2nd half of the book was Sorn groveling/making up for his past mistakes, the series dragged out Sorn being a jerk with barely any apology-making

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wish it was longer/had a special episode

Overall: with only 6 25 minute episodes, they needed to take out/reduce screentime of the main conflict as there wasn't enough time to properly develop their relationship. It's still cute with a solid ending. I gave this an indie rating bump. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/1p9j07cqimg?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4 and seems to also be airing on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0P6L1kgy3ITUD-fneCgsyV7-PgDeZuRO&si=vb2NTEwOIj-EXVIX

Content Warnings: punch, past homophobia, cyber bullying, non con touching

What I Liked
- different personalities
- up front about who they were attracted to/sexual orientation
- noble idiot trope interrupted
- a character sided with the guy he loved and stood up to his own company

Room For Improvement
- the 2 false accusations (in reality it is extremely rare to falsely accuse someone of this)
- rushed romantic development, needed more time to focus on their relationship
- (neutral) quite a lot of far away/camera blocked shots for the kissing and also the interrupted kiss

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episode 1 was cute, episodes 2 and 3 not so much

Overall: the episode was adorable, but sadly the taller protagonist became a creep. 3 episodes aired on Sukfilm YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwRyiN_T-FGdRCUj9cxgr0Gn&si=hrdtTjcl9etN7ACD

Content Warnings: there is borderline/is emotional partner abuse/lovebombing, non con kissing seemed to turn consensual

What I Liked
- episode 1
- mostly centered on 2 characters
- visuals

Room For Improvement
- the taller guy was giving creepy/ignoring boundary vibes, when he said "if you keep making me upset, you have to be punished", "don't even think about running away" in episode 2 and "do you think I'll just let him run away" in episode 3 the lines came across as very threatening, it's like he thought the shorter guy was an object that he deserved instead of a person with their own agency
- stupid plan in episode 3
- a character said he wasn't into guys in episode 2
- background music is too loud and constant

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a supportive ML

Overall: I appreciated how Lin Xiao was kind and supportive. 55 short episodes. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/%E6%8D%A1%E4%B8%AA%E6%80%BB%E8%A3%81%E5%BD%93%E7%94%B7%E5%8F%8B-2025-1oqynntut75

Content Warnings: drugging, sexual assault, manipulation

What I Liked
- visuals (once that awful facial hair disappeared)
- a character didn't take advantage of another character because he was drugged/not in his right mind

Room For Improvement
- too much of the evil family
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny
- almost needed to be more unhinged/dramatic to really pull me in (or get rid of the annoying family members)

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opposites attract short series

Overall: this was a decent short series (filmed vertical style). 12 episodes about 4 minutes each. Aired on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL6MkYrE6Co&list=PLX6cx4BgCOtAC9XrO1yBBjLWBRexMGXHH&index=2&ab_channel=Ch7HD

Content Warnings: non con picture taking/sharing, non con kiss

What I Liked
- clear premise
- opposite personalities/their dynamic
- caring/sweet moments
- intimacy
- consent when the 1 guy was very drunk
- excellent way to study muscle groups

Room For Improvement
- sound effects didn't make things funny
- cliche wannabe girlfriend
- the fake out at the end but at least it was short
- O Christmas Tree background song (didn't take off points)
- (neutral) did a grocery store sponsor this series lol (there were a ton of product placements but I didn't deduct points

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still had some fun parts but they needed to focus on the 4 main characters

Overall: season 2 had a promising start, but it fell into season 2 plot cliches like poor communication skills. You can see my season 1 review here https://kisskh.at/profile/blcompilations/review/326187 - 6 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (worldwide except Japan, Korea, Macau & Hong Kong) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5391/i-became-the-main-role-of-a-bl-drama-2023-s02e01

What I Liked
- laughed several times
- acting

Room For Improvement
- dead fish lip press in episode 1 and the finale
- love rivals/not communicating that dragged on and hogged time that could have been spent on the leads
- was disappointed with the manager reveal, secretly feeling one way and then lying/deceiving your partner out loud is icky

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an established couple with too much repetitiveness (watch suggestions)

Overall: I was looking forward to seeing an established couple navigate a challenge; however, re-telling the same plot points over and over made this challenging to watch. There did seem to be some crossover with Y Destiny, but I don't think you need to watch it in order to watch this series. 10 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/suntiny-episode-1-27wncv1edpg?lang=en_us

Content Warning: self harm mentioned, non con kiss

Watch Suggestions (to reduce the repetitiveness)
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- skip episodes 3-6
- episode 7 watch 4-6:50, 12:30-22:20
- episode 8 watch 2-3, 17-19:45
- episode 9 watch 7:15-8 for side couple montage and 30:30-33:15
- watch episode 10

What I Liked
- established couple
- different personalities/styles in the beginning
- styling
- ongoing physical intimacy/mutual want
- that Toy stood up for himself
- supportive friends

Room For Improvement
- the spoiler start of the series
- the exposition/feeling dumps with the camcorder verses showing the viewer how they feel/it happening organically
- going into a bathtub with underwear on
- people laughing at him for his issue
- repetitive and since they were frequently styled similarly it was difficult to know when they were in different bodies
- that mask thing was odd
- the side couple guy felt like a player for way too long, at episode 6 we should have seen character growth/change
- too many flashbacks
- the non con kiss with the side couple
- cliche "I can explain" but doesn't explain in person or text with plenty of time to do so
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny

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zero payoff

Overall: I was into the obsessed brother but the progression wasn't good and the ending was awful. 6 episodes under 15 minutes each. Aired on PPeachStory YouTube channel https://youtu.be/81-EFRHQbXE?si=XlJ0V6IjmBTRA0no This production also made Uncle Unknown.

Content Warnings: arson, (past: child abuse, beaten up, murder/death, blood), violence, coercion, sexual assault, non con kissing, manhandling, non biological brothers raised as siblings from elementary age

What I Liked
- visuals
- tension
- how the younger guy was the unhinged one
- enjoyed how they were watching other BL/queer series in episode 3
- good dream in episode 3

Room For Improvement
- sexual assault in episode 6
- the first "kiss" was terrible, not sure their lips even touched and also the circumstances of how it happened
- terrible ending
- the adopted brother thing didn't bother me a ton but he kept saying 'brother' every single sentence which was cringey
- sound effects like the hits or footsteps were cheesy/unrealistic/too loud
- nonsense stuff, they didn't call for help for the dad???
- dubbing
- annoying how free episodes only stay free for 1 week

Note: the two were not biological brothers as the older guy said he adopted the younger guy in episode 2, but it did show that they were raised together (the younger one seemed to be in elementary school). That aspect of their relationship didn't bother me, but I can see how it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

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choppy indie series (watch suggestions)

Overall: way too many characters/plot threads in this series. 6 episodes about 35 minutes each (taking out the intro/outros/etc) Aired on Loy Kaew YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLsPniimXTgfDEGMCYnL_MGY_Ic96dsM6&si=TgztkVxn1VRCg7z6 (note the playlist is in a different watch order)

Content Warnings: murder, blood, gang rape off screen, bullying, beaten up, blood, sexual harassment, non con touching, manipulation, punch

Watch Suggestions (focuses on the m/m couple, sweet & steamy parts, removes the content warnings)
- watch episode 1 part 1 4:30-6:15 and 12-14:45; part 2 9:30-end; part 3 beginning to 5:15
- watch episode 2 part 1 13:40-15
- watch episode 3 part 2 1:30-end and part 3 11:30-end
- watch episode 4 part 1 beginning-9:20
- watch episode 5 part 2 8:10-end; part 3 3:30-end
- watch episode 6 part 1 13:55-end and part 2 beginning-3:50 and 6:05-13:25

What I Liked
- vistas/countryside (or historical, not 100% sure) setting
- 1 kind mom
- good kissing/intimacy

Room For Improvement
- super long intro
- too many characters, I couldn't figure out who they were or their relationships to each other, choppy
- love triangle/s?
- the implied gang rape was horrific, I don't care what that character did, she did not deserve that
- the ending was disappointing, we've seen it done many times before, at least they could have cut out some of the other plot threads and added a reincarnation part at the end

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baseball backdrop for short vertical BL series

Overall: once again needed to cut out the love triangle and focus on the leads and their relationship development. It was between a 7.5 and 8 overall for me, a decent way to spend a little time. 35 episodes 1-2 minutes each, episodes 1-5 are free on the Shortime app and you can watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZoFZr9mELc  Aired on Shortime app which also has: Please Teach Me, Falling For My Boss, Summer Indigo, The Secrets of Male Students, Accent, Influencer Love and Buddy Boy. App information is below. My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.

Content Warnings: dub con kiss

What I Liked
- caring moments
- though there wasn't a ton of baseball, it was nice to have a different sport as a backdrop

Room For Improvement
- love triangle
- relationship development felt sudden

My Watch For Free Plan (updated Feb 2025), should take about 3 days
My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.

On the Rewards (popcorn bag icon page)
- check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
- turn on notifications = 30 (1 time bonus)
- 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

When you run out of popcorn while watching, you can watch 5 episodes each day with ads

Note that there are other 1 time bonuses like following on social media

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