BL Compilations

trippy bait & switch

Overall: the promo pics showed 4 guys on top of each other, half naked and oiled up. I thought this would be a sci fi romance, but there was more het romance than m/m romance and the sci fi was confusing. Aired on Viu in a few countries like Thailand, no other release.

Content Warnings: murders/deaths, suicide, blood, attempted murder, held against will

What I Liked
- would like to see all the actors in something else
- different premise
- landscape/setting

Room For Improvement
- a series can have plot twists but should still make sense in earlier episodes
- the riddle thing was kind of lame

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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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Content Warnings: violence, tragedy (not between m/m)

Watch it for Pitch/Bank if you want, but unfortunately the potential was definitely not reached.

What I Liked
- a nice concept of a bodyguard/protectee
- humor mixed with action
- some cute fluff moments
- Pitch/Bank as the side couple
- Sky's dad's acting
- production value seemed fine

Room For Improvement
- that sponge bath was too invasive
- Gun's sad/angry acting, this was just painful to watch and it's partially the director's fault
- many plot holes/non-logical things such as: why wouldn't Sky's mother pre-donate her own blood (especially when she was pregnant as there can be complications), why couldn't Sky donate to her (granted he couldn't do as much as he was a child but still...), why wouldn't Sky pre-donate his blood since it's so rare, why would you put one of the only blood donors in an extremely dangerous job, why did the writers have them be in the art department when Sun can't draw and that's easily found out by the university, why did Pitch get a personality transplant, how did Pitch/Bank become boyfriends
- how Sky used those two women which I was worried about from the beginning, they should have cut out their characters and focused more on Pitch/Bank
- lack of character growth from Sky especially
- I absolutely hate time gaps and this was no exception, the ending felt very rushed

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a wild tourism ad (watch suggestions)

Overall: we have a tourism ad (sightseeing, taking pictures, eating) with some very explicit NSFW thrown in. Kiseki chapter 2 (my review https://kisskh.at/759779-kiseki-chapter-2) is the first one though you don't need to watch it to watch this. 8 episodes about an hour each. Aired on GagaOOLala (worldwide except South Korea, Thailand, Japan) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5312/season-of-love-in-shimane-2025-e01 ; uncut on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/w7dp20ytapqvued/w4101uahlor-EP01%3A_Ai_no_Kisetsu_in_Shimane ; full version for members on 9NAA YouTube (I think the full version on YouTube is also cut) ; cut on YouTube (not available in SE Asia) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96wlltW_5o and also on Viu (likely Thailand). The production company 9NAA made: Kiseki Chapter 2, Venus In The Sky, Check Out, Skinship and I Am Your King.

Cut vs. Uncut - watch uncut not on YouTube because episode 3 was 53:48 on Gaga but only 46:12 for the full version on YouTube which was the same run-time as the two parts on YouTube.

Watch Suggestions (focuses on cute/steamy parts)
- episode 1 watch 14-17:50
- episode 2 watch 3:50-4:35, 12:10-14.35, 23-23:50, 33:10-38:35, 47:40-end
- episode 3 watch beginning-3, 6-9:15, 20:30-25:30, 44:45-end
- episode 4 watch 25:10-45:30
- episode 5 watch 6:10-10:20 and 29:30-end
- episode 6 watch 3:20-6:45
- episode 7 watch 21-26 (or thru 32:40), 39-43 and 51:05-1hr3m25s
- episode 8 watch 3-the end (steamy scenes around 13 minutes)

What I Liked
- scenery
- P has fantastic acting with his eyes, he conveys: jealousy, flirtiness, love and so much more
- steamy parts (hoping they had an intimacy coordinator this time and I could have done without the black socks on his feet in episode 3)
- role playing in episode 5, talking about what the other person likes
- consent in episode 7
- the product placement at the end of episode 7 was hilarious
- episode 8 was nice touring/doing date things around Bangkok

Room For Improvement
- it was pretty slow paced and I found it difficult to get through even watching at a faster speed
- love rival/jealousy
- did not need the bathroom scenes in episode 1, nor the other times they mentioned their bodily functions/toilet humor
- comedy sound effects did not make things funny
- odd in episode 7 why one guy never took his sweater off
- I normally like natural kissing noises but it was too loud in episode 7 (the first NSFW scene)

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repetitive

Overall: the franchise had a fun premise, but it has dragged on too long without progression. 6 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6018/a-man-who-defies-the-world-of-bl-2021-s04e01 (not in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan or Korea)

Content Warnings: slap (played as comedy), fight

What I Liked
- they did a short intro so people don't need to have seen the previous 3 series to understand what is going on
- I did chuckle a few times like at the high pitched sneezing in episode 1
- the intro music open which has a different theme for each season
- was supportive of his brother in episode 3
- for once I was happy we didn't see a kiss at the end

Room For Improvement
- it was a fun premise for season 1 but I want to see some relationship progression, at least with his brother's romance (there was a little in episode 3 starting around 13m30s)
- I don't think the writers intended it but Mob came across as a bit homophobic, though he did talk about how you didn't want to be the main lead
- Mob was selfish when he created a love triangle (and I wish it had resolved differently since all three were nice guys)
- was bored with the napping stuff in episode 2 and did not enjoy the toilet humor at the end of the episode
- two characters that got together were abrupt
- the high school or romantic interest was odd

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cringey characters/plot with some sweetness and spice

Overall: (after a couple of days knowing each other) "Why don't you stay and complete this place. Complete me. Give me a new life." There is some truly cringey dialogue, but it's a fast watch and had some enjoyable moments. Two episodes about 1 hour each. Airing on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/lvdxvdkso18fdfe-The%20Renovation

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- good intimacy
- resort setting
- the last few minutes of episode 1 came out of nowhere but it was fun (also a couple scenes in ep 2, one after the first end credits)

Room For Improvement
- character dumps and the voice overs (it made a little more sense once we discovered his job but I still didn't enjoy it)
- didn't care about the characters or want them to be together in episode 1
- tropey, 2 sponge baths in 1 hour
- nonsense dialogue, the flowers in the bathtub
- not a fan of characters who play games like towards the ending of episode 2

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living for ourselves or others

Overall: I liked how it touched on several topics we rarely see in fictional media, but it felt overall incomplete. 6 episodes about 24 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/7585/the-boy-and-i-who-will-break-up-in-100-days-2026 (not in Japan or Korea).

Content Warnings: sexism, sexual harassment, homophobia, discrimination, postpartum depression, micro aggressions, vomiting, punches, past severe child abuse mentioned

What I Liked
- the documentary/mockumentary style in episode 1
- touched on postpartum depression which is rarely shown in fictional media as well as other topics
- character growth of not putting up with bs from other people

Room For Improvement
- wish we had had their backgrounds earlier
- I was happy with the ending because Itsuki is too selfish to be in a romantic relationship, the gall to do what he did instead of having 1 mature conversation
- ending felt a bit too open ended

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could have been total campy fun (watch suggestions)

Overall: with a few changes this could have been a super entertaining comedy. I deducted a full point for the atrocious lack of consent (mainly in episode 7). 8 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/m9ytee03pftoltl-OMG%20Vampire%20(Uncut%20Ver.) There was sometimes an additional product placement scene at the end and this review was of the uncut version (which was the only listing originally on MDL), not sure there even is a cut version. Very Great also made Physical Therapy and Crazy Handsome Rich

Content Warnings: deaths, rape, non con maybe turned consensual, non con kissing, blood, manipulation, vomiting, harassment, non con touching, stalking, breaking & entering, held against will, beaten up/fights, manhandling

Watch Suggestions (takes out most of the love triangles, focuses on cute moments & skinship)
- watch episodes 1 & 2 (or read the synopsis and watch the beginning of episode 1)
- watch episode 3 from the beginning to 17:30
- watch episode 4, 9:40 to 10:40, 25:30-26:15, 36:45-39:50, 43-51:50
- watch episode 5, 7:10-16:30, 32-36:20, 42 to the end
- watch episode 6, beginning to 45 seconds, 6:30-11, 13:10-16:15, 20:20-26:50, 28:30-33:30, 34:45 to the end
- watch episode 7, beginning to 1 min, 11:30-12:20, 14:20-17:10, 32:30-41:06, 42:24-49
- watch all of episode 8 but I'd suggest ending at 59:40

What I Liked
- the over the top campy humor made me chuckle a few times (Thaiwilight City)
- beginning scene got my attention
- good kissing
- sweet moments
- lack of voice dubbing
- supportive friends and parents

Room For Improvement
- the non con in episode 7 was horrendous, being in a relationship does not mean you get to do whatever you want when a person is sleeping (although this was fictional because no way would a person sleep through that), I think with 1 couple they were going for a bodice ripper vibe but it came across as more uncomfortable than steamy, they even had non con right at the end of episode 8
- many world building exposition dumps
- juggled too many plots/relationships for 8 episodes
- nonsense/'because the writer said so'/convenient world building stuff i.e. problem is population increase but then same sex relationships are worse somehow???, why wouldn't he just sleep for 200 years? I guess he was nervous about something happening in 6 years but given his age seemed unlikely, super improbable that would happen to the 4 of them at the exact same time and a ton more
- Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy music, same music from their past series
- the music 'na na na na na na naaaaa' over steamy scenes
- episode 2 when characters argued about who would be the groom
- not a fan of 2 men fighting over a woman in het series and definitely not in BL series
- odd that Patrick went from intrigued to very reluctant to head over heels

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basically commercials with some cute moments

Overall: I don't mind product placement, but in this case there was more product placement than plot. Three episodes about 12 minutes each. Aired on DFJ Entertainment's YouTube channel https://youtu.be/16s4HBeSKUE?si=5wguaKQ0sgnG6ocl

What I Liked
- lap sit and walking fingers up his arm
- the cat
- having subtitles in multiple languages

Room For Improvement
- mostly product placement
- think they should have left the boyfriend out of the series, did the main character learn/grow so a future relationship would even be successful?
- ending was disappointing with them cutting away like that

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some cute parts (watch suggestions)

Overall: cliched conflicts weighed down the otherwise cute plot. 10 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala & Viki. The production company also made: Stay By My Side, You Are Mine and Anti Reset (airing in 2024).

Watch Suggestions (unless you enjoy slow pacing and cliched drama)
- watch ep 1 & 2
- skip ep 3
- watch ep 4
- skip ep 5
- could skip ep 6, there is a cameo from the You Are Mine leads and a cute sick/caring scene around 12 minutes but stop at 16 minutes to avoid useless family drama
- skip ep 7 & 8
- watch ep 9 (can also start at 8 minutes and watch thru to the end) and episode 10

Content Warnings: homophobic remark, dub/non con kissing, vomiting

What I Liked
- cute moments
- facial hair (and it looks really good) on a lead
- supportive/wingman friend
- two side characters (though zero screen time in episode 5-8 and only a little bit before then)
- cameo of You Are Mine actors in ep 6 and 10
- that Liu Li stood up to the mom

Room For Improvement
- the whole drunk cliche
- the waiter's rude comment would have made more sense if there were a bunch of people in the restaurant and some were leaving because they couldn't find a place to sit, also the animal sanctuary could have used a few extras as well
- in episode 5 the dub/non con kissing was uncomfortable to watch as was the freeze kiss in ep 4
- instead of introducing that character in ep 6 they could have developed the sassy waiter and the upbeat friend (who basically vanished from the series)
- camerawork sometimes moved too much/had odd angles
- slow pacing
- two grown men fought like middle schoolers over another man as if he was property and not a person, tried to be comedic but failed
- noble idiocy

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(Kind Of) Innocent

Overall: I'm reviewing this 5 minute short as separate from the original short & the series. Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: strobe/flash lighting

What I Liked
- the music, editing, color grading made it feel like a music video/art film which I think it what they were going for
- that the voice over had some decent communication in it
- the bdsm & costume aspects of it

Room For Improvement
- pretty sure the couple times I laughed out loud was not the effect they were going for
- it was surprisingly PG-13, thought it was going to be a bit steamier (because nothing says sexy like a teddy bear sitting at that table, I realize it was supposed to represent the 1 personality...but still...)
- they could have done whipped cream and licking/sucking it off, blown out a massage candle and dripped hot wax on a guys back or abs, many ways to make this less innocent

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A Slooooowwww Realistic(ish) Drama

Content warnings: none I can think of

Overall: A slower paced (too slow in my opinion) series dealing with a realistic problem.

What I Liked
- A more realistic reason for the drama
- Supportive siblings
- Lack of evil girlfriend/ex-girlfriend/stalker "fan"
- Focused on 1 couple* instead of a billion (slight exaggeration) couples

Room For Improvement
- 4 year gap: I really dislike time gaps where 1 person makes a unilateral decision and the other person is miserable for years and years supposedly for their own good, ugh.
- Number of flashbacks/flashforwards: it takes me out of the story and this had quite a few of time hops especially via flashbacks. The whole 7th episode was a flashback, it felt like filler.
- Lack of doctor/patient confidentiality: I think the sister could have talked to Nut about Phob instead of his doctor
- *Not being clear about the brother & Tar's relationship until episode 6: just a few romantic moments would have made this clear earlier. I would have liked their relationship to be more developed.
- Pacing felt too slow to me: I watched this on at least 1.5 (or more) speed and I think it would have been better as 6 episodes, maybe even 5.
- The ending: was okay, I generally don't like cliffhangers and I don't think it had the impact it should have had because of the lack of a developed romantic relationship. I would watch a 2nd season though.

I skipped ahead from ep 5 to the end because I was worried and fyi it is not a tragic ending. 
Watch past the credits of each episode as there are side stories/interviews with the cast/director. 
I think I'm being a bit generous with 7.5 as I really had to push myself to finish all 8 episodes.

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vertical series with great visuals

Overall: the actors did a good job, but the plot circled a bit too much for me. Aired on Vigloo, here's an invite link www.vigloo.com/en/redirect/app/invite?code=c33Vjb4P
50 episodes a couple minutes each. Episodes 1-10 are free, can watch about 7 episodes per day for free by watching ads so it takes a few days to finish watching the series.

Content Warnings: past child or intimate partner abuse, manipulation, sexual harassment, dub con turned consensual, non con picture taking, blackmail, drugging

What I Liked
- visuals/dynamic
- supportive coworker

Room For Improvement
- started with the cliche drunk sex
- impersonated a doctor and then did something when he knew they should wait a few days for health reasons
- plot went in circles
- business drama was uninteresting

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