BL Compilations

Love Triangles, part 2 (more triangles and a worse plot)

Overall: the writers thought that they didn't have enough characters/love triangles so they threw in another triangle and then made them into rectangles? Am I in geometry class? If you want to watch idiots and jerks totally mess up their love lives, then this is the show for you. I slogged thru ep 1, 2, 6 and 8 and cannot bring myself to watch the rest. Watched on Gagaoolala.

What I Liked
- Valen's awkward attempts at moving their relationship forward in the beginning was kind of adorable
- overall production value was good, a few errors with the English subs but not bad
- the enjoyable OST is by Jeff Satur
- the kissing scene was fairly well done in ep 1, at least no dead fish lip press kiss
- I did appreciate that there was an apology from Mr. Goldfish Memory

Room For Improvement
- characters were really stupid and unlikable, I'm not even going to get into all the ways that they were awful
- a 16 minute recap of season 1 out of a 45min episode, 16 minutes! I like a short recap to center what happened before but this was way too long. And it wasn't clear where it ended. Weren't they lying in the sand/water at the end of season 1, that's where it should have started.
- a third love triangle, you've got to be kidding me (update they got even worse with even more characters added in to create love rectangles)
- Kaitoon is the stupidest protagonist, he has both the memory and brain of a gold fish. He can't figure out that either guy is romantically interested in him? And why can't they just tell him directly? Kaitoon and Valen stupidly started back at square 1 when I thought they were going to advance their relationship in season 2.

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power and control

Overall: instead of love, I felt a character's obsession stemmed from power and control (i.e. abuse). Note that the series and my review may have triggering content. 12 episodes about 40 minutes each. I have not read the book this series is based on, I have watched the two one hour movies from 2016 (A Round Trip to Love) and I tried to review the series based on its own merits.

Content Warnings: rape multiple times*, sexual assault/non con kissing/non con touching, intimate partner abuse and violence including choking, internal and external homophobia, deaths, grief, drugging, held against will, attempted suicide?, held against will, attempted murder, blood, punches, mental health struggles, I might be missing some content warnings

*episode 2 felt more like internalized homophobia, episode 4 was rape (it's not just fight or flight, there is also freeze, flop and friend and a person's brain can choose automatically how to respond https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/tools-for-victims-and-survivors/understanding-your-response/
and episode 9/10 (not sure if it was a flashback) was also rape)

What I Liked
- acting
- sweet moments
- I did appreciate the apology in episode 2
- not a cliched woman character

Room For Improvement
- the wealthy/powerful aggressive pursuer and the not wealthy/not powerful reluctant pursuee dynamic didn't work for me because the pursuee felt more like an abuse victim most of the time
- characters were a bit stupid to realize that there could have been family interference
- after what happened in episode 9 and the first half of episode 10 it was unrealistic how everything was fine and dandy between them
- him having bipolar disorder seemed like a cop out and adds to mental health disorder stereotypes

Question: I'm not sure when this is supposed to take place. I saw landlines but also iPhones (first created in 2007). If it's set a couple decades ago, then the other students freaking out at school would make a bit more sense because I can't see that happening now.

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quirky comedy, romance, crime series

Overall: though I did like the main couple and several side characters, the tone was all over the place. 12 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on Connecting to You YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA97yNFVRehg ; GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8579/connecting-to-you-2026-e01 ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/connecting-to-you-2026-2fbr7b78pud?lang=en_us ; Viki viki.com/tv/41629c-connecting-to-you ; Rakuten TV ; MyVideo and friDay

Content Warnings: near suicide (ep 1 skip 2:30-5), bloody nose, child abuse (ep 3 skip 8:45-17:20), manipulation, fight, held against will, attempted murders past death

What I Liked
- unique premise
- different personalities
- caring moments/relationship
- supportive friend and grandmother

Room For Improvement
- exposition/world building dump to start
- some of the humor didn't work for me
- the balance was off, it's as if the series couldn't decide what it wanted to be: comedy, romance or detective/serious cases and then didn't do any of them really well
- that pos dad should have had more consequences
- needed more confirmation of their relationship status in the finale

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voice actor and his fan

Overall: this was cute. 6 episodes about 6 minutes each. Aired on QueerDeep's YouTube channels (they had issues with YouTube so all episodes might not be online) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5eYOvIOJXrPrwsI-ciq-Vc-BMgOpG5mO&si=BvlV7RC-8ruVTr4p and https://youtu.be/cgW7W4I6RCU?si=gIEvehYxndlKuprK

Content Warnings: mental health struggles, cyberbullying/disinformation

What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- focused on 2 characters
- a character was crushing so hard
- I laughed at the empty coffee cup in ep 2

Room For Improvement
- odd that he immediately moved in
- therapy was needed

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a darker revenge short series

Overall: this was not a fluffy romance but I didn't judge it by fluffy romance standards. 6 episodes about 10 minutes each. Aired on Secret of Us YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BSona1dmx4ez-PNNMmmFsAt8zwjDhsj&si=tbfb1Upl2OXvxJGa

Content Warnings: sexual assault, violence, blood, non con recording, stalking, manhandling, blackmail, deaths/murders, non con kissing turned consensual, drugging, past bullying, threatened suicide

Notes:
- to skip most of the content warnings start episode 1 at 2:15 and episode 4 at 4:45, then end it at episode 5 9m30s
- the subtitles say half brother but it might mean step brothers (i.e. not biologically related)

What I Liked
- bath tub scene
- the BL manga
- when a character decided to change (in ep 4 after 4:45)

Room For Improvement
- flash forward/present and then went back to start
- seemed needlessly dark with the third guy
- no consequence shown for a terrible character

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want to see the actors in something else

Overall: what happened in episode 4 (YouTube version) made a future romance not work between them. Airing on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhRSqpTQ1MD2qGC-AiqP7ti9QIz9p_2pb&si=LcSE08aSkSEDjH-W

Content Warnings: kidnapping/held against will, violence, near murder, past attempted suicide, blood, manipulation, rape shown (in episode 4), kidnapping, choking, attempted murders, suicide shown

What I Liked
- the one actor played the twin brothers well (in that they seemed like different people)

Room For Improvement
- I was hoping we'd see some major character growth with the leads but the rape in episode 4 sank any desire for them to be in a romantic relationship with each other (and then it happened again!)
- a character could have easily gone on social media to see what the other character was saying was true
- power of love woke someone from a coma
- a character refused to forgive the other character but instantly forgave his brother

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hope to see the actors in something else

Overall: did not vibe with the plot. 6 episodes about 8 minutes each. Aired on Secret of Us YouTube Official https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BSona1dmx5qAPZpNNjT9XEv_wyP_HzT&si=ouK5zhi2gVdEigwN

Note: in the trailer a character said they weren't related by blood, so they are step brothers who appear to have been raised together since elementary school aged based on that picture

Content Warning: manipulation

What I Liked
- the dreams
- visuals
- the younger character's plotting in the beginning*

Room For Improvement
- *he was way too manipulative later on, even when he came clean I didn't trust him
- the older guy was shown to be extremely straight and then the sudden 180 turn and open ending did not work for me

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a nice way to spend time

Overall: though I'm generally not a fan of manipulation, I was happy with how things progressed/ended. 29 episodes, about 2 minutes each. First 3 episodes are on YouTube here https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UwHhkbex8oOO_F3qasjlzStoabjnG9-&si=DnorKiMj2k5f8O1I - rest of the episodes are on the BUMP app which is not available in all countries. Later available at https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8283/my-other-half-2024

Content Warnings: manipulation, trespassing, non con touching, victim blaming

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- the perspective switch
- that a character immediately apologized for victim blaming

Room For Improvement
- some odd music choices that didn't fit the vibe of the scene
- the cat blocked shot at the very end
- the BUMP app is not available in all countries but they haven't released the rest on any other official platform

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wished for a better plot for these great actors (watch suggestions)

Overall: SUKFILM does some things really well such as chemistry/tension. However, the love triangles/cheating bog the series down. Aired 8 episodes about 10 minutes each https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwQ_32A8H9oWjdEtXVTWcrja&si=212BSBvITHARKx3G I am watched the cut version, the uncut has longer kissing scenes.

Content Warning: dub con kissing turned consensual?, non con kiss, manipulation, unwanted public outing

Watch Suggestions (to avoid cheating. love triangles and an evil ex)
- watch episode 1 and end it at 9:55
- skip episode 2
- watch episode 3 beginning to 45s, 5:15-7:40, 9:35-end
- watch episode 4 beginning to 1m and 6:40-end
- stop episode 5 at 2 minutes
- skip episodes 6 & 7
- watch episode 8 7:40-end

What I Liked
- acting/chemistry/tension
- visuals
- sweet moment with the first aid
- music (except that the singing was too loud during scenes with dialog)
- a character actually had a decent plan in episode 8

Room For Improvement
- the cliched woman character (which I think has appeared in all 3 of their BLs)
- one character is kind of a jerk/cheater (this is also a running theme in their BLs)
- I can't really be happy with the couple because I don't trust that there won't be cheating in the future

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First Impression: The Sound of Sugar Cubes

Overall: I'm a bit confused, but trying to be optimistic. Based on a webtoon that I haven't read and I review adaptations based on their own merits. 10 episodes about 22 minutes each. Airing on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/the-sound-of-sugar-cubes-episode-1-2b0ftinf328?lang=en_us ; GagaOOLala & Wavve

Content Warnings: there are major ones (stop episode 1 at 21:15 and start episode 2 at 15 seconds to skip), blood, non con touching, non con kiss turned consensual

What I Liked
- hopefully there is adequate revenge
- no dead fish lip press

Room For Improvement
- why is he acting like a jerk, it's a stupid approach
- I am somewhat confused of how everything is related

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good chemistry with lackluster worldbuilding

Overall: I tried to review the series on its own merits instead of comparing it to the Thai adaptation or the source material. 10 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6221/the-boy-next-world-my-destiny-2026-e01 (not available in Japan)

Content Warnings: past child abuse, past suicide, past harassment/bullying, past stalking, beaten up, stalking, dub con kiss, manipulation, slap, held against will

Watch Suggestions for episodes 8-10, 19-20:30
- skip episode 8
- episode 9 watch 7-10:30
- episode 10 watch 4-6:35 and 24:20-end

What I Liked
- mutual want
- supportive friends and brother
- the mom had some consequences

Room For Improvement
- the first episode is a bit confusing/choppy, but it settled down in the second episode, the finally explained things in episode 9
- didn't feel the side couple and the random supernatural power
- cliche wannabe girlfrend

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Terrible Ending In My Room

Overall: I watched the first 3 and half episodes and the last episode (cut version). Very disappointed at the ending.

Content Warnings: kind of attempted self harm/suicide - it's complicated, character death, horror, watching someone without their permission

What I Liked
- there was some stunning cinematography for example in the beginning with the light behind the characters, nice color scheming, music contributes to the mood
- the intro drawing/animation sequence
- the kiss in the final episode was well done

Room For Improvement
- in the cut version, there is zero explanation why Phob didn't turn into an evil ghost?!?
- Phob was too gutless to say goodbye to Phat (but then they did say goodbye, I have no idea why/how that came about)
- time skip and 50ish year old Phat says he married a woman but it didn't work out, he's dying of cancer and his mom died...then Phat and Phob reunite after Phat's death
- free version cuts out parts and it felt choppy in many places

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