BL Compilations

Road trip story with four guys

Overall: Three friends (and one potential hook up) go on a road trip. I'm grading this on a curve as it's from 2008, low budget and addressed a couple important topics. Watched on gagaoolala.

Content warnings: homophobia (internal & external), a transphobic comment

What I Liked
- that they addressed the topics of HIV, jobs/poverty and homophobia
- the intro song which is played throughout was fun to listen to
- favorite line "change is the most permanent thing in this world"

Room For Improvement
- it appears that Michael got closure but the way he went about it was bad
- I think they could have cut some scenes out or made them shorter and then developed the characters and their relationships with one another more
- the subs had some errors/I didn't understand a few things
- the night scenes were too dark and it was difficult to see

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Timeline is a bit confusing, but an overall sweet short film

Overall: This 15 minute short film from Malaysia explores a major challenge to an established m/m relationship. Watched on gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: homophobia

What I Liked
- starts with an established couple
- that they communicate about what they are going to do instead of 1 person just ghosting the other
- cute scenes like at the beach
- the mom's growth

Room For Improvement
- the frequent time skips backwards and forwards made it difficult to know the sequence of events and made it feel disjointed. When the subtitles said Tokyo, Japan they could have also said X weeks, months or years later
- quite a lot of background road noise in a scene towards the end

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A family centered story

Overall: this centers on Artemisia, a woman with a queer son, a daughter studying/living abroad who then returns with a surprise and a bigoted, penny-pinching mother

Content Warnings: the grandma is very bigoted but it is not shown in a positive way

What I Liked
- the m/m had an actual realistic conversation about thoughts on planning a trip together and whether or not to come out
- the kiddo is super cute
- showing challenges and working through them (Artemisia)
- the mom hanging up that underwear to dry was hilarious

Room For Improvement
- the boyfriend coming over unannounced felt like an ambush and was forcing the son to do something he wasn't yet ready for
- the ending feels a bit abrupt or too open ended, though you can infer what is happening with the son and his boyfriend and I liked the tai chi (I think that's what it is)

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A Quirky Short Film

Content Warnings: none

Overall: a cute short film (30min) with an art house film quirky vibe

What I Liked
- the set design is really nice
- the camerawork and lighting made it have an art film/quirky/unique tone
- I could see this being a whole series and I don't think I've seen a fortune teller reading tea leaves in BL yet...

Room For Improvement
- I think I know what happened at the end but I'm not really sure...which generally isn't how I like to feel after watching something
- the goofy sound effects were okay, I liked that they toned them/got rid of them later on

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A Realistic Slice of Life Set in a Religious High School

Content Warnings: none that I can think of

Overview: you might like this if you like slice of life stories

What I Liked
- the setting of an all male religious school is fairly unique from what I've seen thus far
- the main character Dominic has (stereotypical) feminine qualities which is rare to see and I liked that he character wasn't played just for laughs like I've frequently seen with trans women or crossdressing men (though this did happen with the fortune teller/assistant)
- the ex girlfriend wasn't some flat evil character, she saw that he changed, they were more compatible now and wanted to give it another try

Room For Improvement (minor spoilers)
- that Dominic lied and said he just wanted to be friends/platonic when almost the whole time he was looking at it from a romance aspect
- was it ever explained why Dominic didn't go to the playground, did he forget? what happened???
- how the ending played out, it felt like Dominic was trying to force Luke...

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BL With A Cherry On Top (Ehhhh???!!!)

Overall: a fantastical realistic BL showcasing a healthy relationship. This is in my top tier of BL shows.

What I Liked (mild spoilers)
- the ability to read someone's mind without them knowing is a major violation of privacy, but Adachi does not abuse this power, many times he actively tries to avoid using it. He likes it and wants to keep it because he wants to know how he can help others. 
- the way Kurosawa handled the King's game. Even though it's likely what Kurosawa wanted to do, once he saw that Adachi was uncomfortable, he changed it to a forehead kiss and said 'sorry' in his mind.
- the fact that Adachi doesn't have an identity crisis or internalized homophobia when he knows Kurosawa is romantically attracted to him. The reason that he thinks he can't be with Kurosawa is that "I'm afraid of getting more deeply involved and disappointing him" (episode 4), basically it's Adachi's low self-esteem that makes him think he's not worthy of being with Kurosawa. 
- the cinematography/color scheme
- the humor, like that bad poetry on the bus

Room For Improvement
- why did Kurosawa wait 5 years before making any moves? Just because they bumped into each other in the elevator he thought it was fate or something? I think he likely continued because Adachi was being more reciprocal, I just wish there had been a bit more of a reason at the start of the series. 
- the side couple. The 30 year old comes across as a creeper to me. I wish they had made his character not be exaggerated and more calm.
- Adachi's over acting is not my thing. It appears to be common in many live action adaptations from manga, but I wish it was toned down a bit more. 

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a short miniseries with love triangles (or rectangles???)

Content Warnings: none I can think of

What I Liked
- visuals, the actors are cute
- production (like sound, subs, lighting) are actually pretty good for what I'm assuming is a very small budget
- the BTS clips at the end of each episode are fun to watch

Room For Improvement
- the crying itself was fine but when he raises his head it didn't look like he had been crying at all (i.e. no tears, red eyes or nose)
- the kiss wasn't the best but it definitely wasn't the worst that I've seen
- this season ends on a cliffhanger
- I'm watching the 2nd season and you really don't know who to ship or what the endgame is, there are multiple people liking other people

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horny butler and bratty owner (watch suggestions)

Overall: the beginning episodes containing non con/dub con with the main couple was disappointing, but there were good visuals and sweet moments. 12 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (Americas, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, India, Southeast Asia) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5016/eternal-butler-2024-e01 ; iQIYI (available in USA, Spain and ???) https://www.iq.com/play/eternal-butler-episode-1-dst0wmvc9g?lang=en_us ; YouTube (available in African countries, Greenland, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Egypt and a few others) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZCKtVEQmC4

Content Warnings: past suicide, blood, manhandling, non con kisses, drugging, violence, past self harm/suicide?, non con/dub con, torture, kidnapping, fight

Watch Suggestions (takes some of the dad out, focuses on sweet moments)
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- episode 3 end at 21:55
- episode 4 watch 4-5 for a cameo, it does get steamy around 15 min but I couldn't enjoy it due to the circumstances
- episode 5 skip 5:50-17:30
- episode 6 end at 20 and then watch 24:30-end
- episode 7 watch 11:20-end
- episode 8 watch beginning-3:35, 5-15:30 and 21:20-end
- episode 9 watch 3:30-4:30, 8:30-10:30, 17-19:30
- episode 10 watch 2:50-11:10, 13:30-25:20
- episode 11 watch 7:45-12:30 and 15:50-end
- episode 12 watch 5-end

What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- the sci fi element
- visuals
- supportive friendship
- sweet/caring moments
- the side couple dynamic
- Stay By My Side and other cameos
- character growth with the dad
- good they discussed something in the final episode*

Room For Improvement
- started with a flash forward
- the main couple dynamic of brat vs ignores boundaries robot
- nonsense stuff such as dumb design with the glasses aspect (which is then later completely dropped), an extremely intelligent robot caused the main lead to hobble around the next day, a character in debt wore a shirt full of holes to work (he was later shown as having non-damaged shirts) but had an apartment full of nice furniture, an ultra intelligent robot only could find paid work as an escort, just ignoring warnings instead of dealing with them
- (neutral) sound effects
- episode 4 steamy scene was ruined by the circumstance which I labeled as non con/dub con
- the line "if you caused it, you have to take responsibility" in that circumstance
- the contrasting reactions to giving vs receiving
- the yelling dad
- noble idiot trope in ep 9 but thankfully only lasted a few minutes
- put a tracker on someone without their knowledge
- told parents without consulting his partner first
- can't believe the side couple didn't do something for 10 years
- *one character was still selfish/bratty to the very end, thinking about what he wanted as most important

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solid ending

Overall: it was exciting to see Singto and Krist again with a story not about high schoolers or university students; however, one of my most hated tropes is the basis for this series which made me not rate it higher. 10 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube Channel (not available in Thailand, Korea or Japan) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI6nPzMs-RhMalpGr-jA0_3C&si=cEfvTY0ErPMrmQZn and Viu (Thailand).

Content Warnings: non con touching, non con video recording/sharing/outing, attempted murder, blood, manipulation

What I Liked
- great to see Singto & Krist again
- clear premise in the present
- clear flashbacks
- protect mode
- callbacks like with the engineering shirt
- once together their ongoing intimacy, good kissing
- Mix's cameo
- styling
- excellent finale

Room For Improvement
- the noble idiot trope where a person caused much more pain to the supposed love of their life than if they had talked to their loved one and told the truth, we finally learned what happened in episode 7 part 1 which made it difficult for me to enjoy their past relationship knowing how they ended up in the present and (correctly) guessing their rift was based on stupidity (if you're struggling, I suggest start at episode 5 part 3, then skip over where you see angst/anger, fairly smooth sailing episode 7/4 and onward)
- how Tam didn't tell his mom like it was/standing up for his relationship (he had a conversation off-screen with her)
- a character told something that the mom had instructed him not to say

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it's not funny, it's offensive

Overall: this was a remake of a 2015 series (on YouTube unsubbed). It felt like it was stuck in the past (or even farther back than 2015) with its colorism, body shaming, effeminate male/trans women stereotypes and sexual assault played as comedy. 16 episodes about 35 minutes each. Aired on WeTV.

Content Warnings: colorism, trans women/effeminate men stereotypes, body shaming, bullying, cyberbullying, sexual assault played as comedy, sexual harassment, sex shaming, transphobia, held against will, non con picture/video taking and sharing

What I Liked
- Jet/New until the end of episode 6 which is what made me drop the series even though I wanted to give this a complete watch/review
- one of the teachers (the one who didn't sexually harass/assault a fellow teacher and didn't bully a student)
- it was good attempt with the message about being able to wear a uniform to match your gender identity, but then that character wore something out of a Japanese manga, would have been much more powerful if that character had worn the Thai school uniform for women
- episode 2 had good sex ed with using condoms correctly

Room For Improvement
- sexual assault played as comedy, it went on for so long and was not funny
- the two teachers who bullied a student and sexually harassed a fellow teacher
- the stereotypical male guys had love interests while the effeminate male characters were constantly fighting with each other and bullying a trans student
- way too much catfighting and bullying
- too many characters (there are 21 on the poster) and I couldn't figure out their names/who they all were
- comedy sound effects
- cliche overheard something and didn't talk

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unique premise

Overall: the confusing plot (though intentional) and distrust that the main romance was real made me not invested in this series. Major ending spoiler in the comments. Adapted from the book "Mystique in the Mirror" by Patrick III Rangsimant which I haven't read and this review is based on the series. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/mystique-in-the-mirror-episode-1-13h4cxtv8zg?lang=en_us

Content Warnings: held against will (complicated), non con kiss (complicated), past death, death, grief

What I Liked
- a different premise
- that we couldn't see the ending/it was unpredictable
- fantastic finale

Room For Improvement
- the suspense was more confusing so it didn't keep me hooked
- since I doubted the main romance, I was never fully invested in it
- dubious medical ethics (I'm not a doctor, but some of the medical stuff felt dramalandish)

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better as it went on

Overall: I enjoyed seeing two people working thru their relationship and life challenges. 12 episodes about 23 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not in Japan, Korea or Thailand) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5473/stay-by-my-side-after-the-rain-2025-e01

Content Warnings: past death, past abuse, vomiting, emotional abuse from a parent

Watch Suggestions from 3 on (will try to go back to episodes 1 & 2 later) focuses more on the main leads
- stop episode 3 at 12:10
- skip episode 4
- episode 5 watch 18:20-end
- episode 6 watch 6-10:15 (though I did chuckle at some of the jealousy afterwards) and 20-end
- stop episode 7 at 20:55
- episode 8 watch 6:30-7:45 and 14-end
- watch episode 9
- episode 10 watch beginning-9:10 and 12:20-19:45
- episode 11 watch 5-end
- watch episode 12

What I Liked
- clear premise
- a reserved worrier and an open fly by the seat of his pants dynamic
- communicated/were honest in several episodes, the check in
- sweet moments
- supportive co-workers*
- laughed a couple times
- a supportive grandma
- a supportive mom and sister
- production value

Room For Improvement
- voicing internal thoughts frequently
- threatening stalking/ignoring boundaries was not romantic
- cared nothing for the mom or the co-workers* (did not like how he was forced to come out and he was grateful that they didn't mind their own business)
- not reassuring if the talk was good news or bad news in episode 4
- dead fish lip presses
- (neutral) a character refused to communicate in the beginning but at least it didn't last too long

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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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comedy that works sometimes (watch suggestions)

Overall: wish it would have focused more on romantic/sweet moments of the main couple as I did not find the side plots interesting. The series is based on a book which I haven't read and I'm reviewing the series based on its own merits. 8 episodes about 50 min each. Aired here https://www.oned.net/video/6369378014112 with English subtitles.

Content Warning: mental health struggles

Watch Suggestions (to focus on the m/m relationship and if the humor isn't your style)
- episode 1 watch 15-33
- episode 2 watch beginning-9:40, 12-14, 37-end
- episode 3 watch 5-9:30, 12-15, 36-end
- episode 4 watch 13-16:30, 18:15-21:45, 32-end
- episode 5 watch 9:50-12:30 and 35:20-end
- episode 6 watch 23:30-25:30
- episode 7 watch 30:30-35:50
- episode 8 watch 17:30-20:30, 25-29 and 40-end

What I Liked
- the entrance of one character was funny and I chuckled a couple of times
- different premise for a BL series
- the grandpa

Room For Improvement
- a character repeatedly called the other character 'bestie'
- what's with the random kid that keeps hitting him/running into him
- could have started the 1st episode at 15 minutes and not miss anything
- wasn't into the side plots with the stylist/barista and the cats, the guy was a jerk in episode 4 so even his plot line with his grandpa didn't pull at my heartstrings as it should have)
- nonsense that they wouldn't send their best after multiple failed attempts

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Actual communication & character growth!

Content Warnings: bullying, maybe that super bizarre meet cute, 
(minor spoilers)

I watched the first 5 episodes but since I'm not a fan of love triangles (rectangles? pentagons?) or slow burn romances, I decided to wait until it was finished and binge the rest if reviews were good. And I'm so glad that I watched the rest (albeit on 1.5 speed).

What I Liked
- hold onto your hats because...characters actually communicate with each other, whaaaaa???? Not perfectly, but there is a bunch of effort and it's so nice to see characters looking for clarification and communication. 
- characters actually apologize for mistakes they made and try to learn/grow from them
- attention to detail with the production/production value. I can tell thought was put into things (such as a character is mentioned to have red ears and his ears are actually red).
- Shi Woon is the best boy, I liked many characters but Shi Woon is a goofball who isn't stupid, more of this please
- the parallel with the cat
- finally a supportive and kind teacher who isn't flirting or hooking up with a student
- some great lines including "steal what, Tae Kyung is not mine just like Da On isn't yours"

Room For Improvement
- that absolutely awful meet cute with the you know what and referring to his butt, no way. The writers must have thought this was funny but it was totally not funny and awful to watch. 
- I know it's based on a game but I wish they would have made the names more unique from each other, because I kept getting confused about which person was being talked about
- It can be slooooooowwww, like those 2 minute lingering glances after a catch and fall, talking slowly, walking slowly
- once again we have the female character who make a terrible decision but at least this one has character growth
- the 2 kisses, especially the 2nd. I give them 1 shocked kiss but when 1 person doesn't move their lips/pucker and the other is making an effort, it looks so awkward. I blame the director/lack of workshopping. Looking at the BTS, neither actor had done an on screen kiss. The actors should have been given some direction/information in a smaller group setting before going to film it.
- the last episode left many things unanswered and felt rushed but perhaps there will be a season 2

Speaking of, I'm looking forward to a season 2 or a spinoff (but don't make me get rid of one of the things on my What I Liked list).

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