#although also like. thai dramas and taiwan are already making some | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

absolutebl · 1 year

Note

Hi! Why do so many BLs have one character meet the other when they were a child and love them since then…. I’m watching History 5 and the second couple has this trope with the older one loving the child but loads of them have a child ‘loving’ the older guy for years (Minato, second couple in History 4, lovely writer)

Is this a common trope in non-BL Asian dramas? Maybe I’m missing some cultural aspect but it makes me feel a bit weird… I’m fine when they both meet as children but when one’s a child and one’s an adult it feels off to me!

We Met As Kids, Therefore I Love You

Yes, it's a super common trope in ALL Asian romances.

There's a human cross-cultural claim-to-care around having met someone "first" giving one person priority to another's affection and in their life.

For example, think about how many fans (of say a Kpop group or band or actor) will claim to be "better" or morally superior to other fans of that same talent, because they have have liked that group/person "since the beginning" or "before they were famous." How about those who claim superiority because they read the book before the TV series became popular?

To have loved something FIRST is often allied with being better at loving it, there is a value judgement to longevity of association. (This is also true around disliking someone/something first.)

There isn't a name for this logical fallacy, although there should be. I would say something like appeal to tradition argumentum ad antiquitatem (which is a red herring fallacy). So appeal to time, argumentum ad tempus?

(The 8th Sense is doing some VERY interesting things to philosophically battle this concept right NOW, actually.)

Narratively speaking, if you have only a short amount of time to unfold the story (for example We Best Love) this trope gives writers a quick way to justify pining and affection (usually from the seme character). So backstory can be cribbed for character development. That character is already in love, so we don't have to show him falling in love, only one character is in play for that.

In longer narratives (like Word of Honor, Lovely Writer) this is a secret that gets to be slowly uncovered and explored as a plot point. If you have them meet as children, or when one is a child then it justifies one character not remembering the other (because peoples appearances change from childhood to adulthood).

I think the popularity in Asian dramas in particular has to do with collectivist cultures and family obligation/intimacy priority. To have known (or met) someone as a kid adds a level of intimate connection that justifies any affection that much more than meeting later in life.

There's a very funny scene in Kdrama (noona romance) Thumping Spike (recommended) that directly mocks this trope. Near the end the main couple openly together and they are in the car with the (former) love triangle dude. He lost, even though he's the one with the childhood crush. He directly combats this concept by saying (basically): If longevity guaranteed romance, I should be married to the grandma who runs my local convenience store.

Another well known Kdrama that combats this trope is Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (recommended) which goes out of its way to have the love triangle character who would normally lose the girl, actual win her this time. (So the one who loses is the moot crush from childhood.)

In BL, I tracked this one for a while:

Also here are a few BLs that DO NOT use this trope:

(source)

#asked and answered #Korean bl #childhood crush #long term pining #We Best Love #taiwanese bl #Strong Woman Do Bong Soon #Kdrama #KBL #Korean BL #Thumping Spike #Word of Honor #Chinese BL #bromance #the eighth sense #argumentum ad antiquitatem #appeal to tradition #logical fallacy

158 notes · View notes

mejomonster · 1 year

Text

I will say the sexual tension Moonlight Chicken kicks off with damn

Been 3 shows how long was a director waiting to Utilize that high heat energy they give when just sitting standing looking near each other let alone More sjjsjd

Also I get now why someone reviewed this as a bit more Taiwan in bl feel? It does feel more grounded real queer people daily life kind of story, which Taiwan is good at, and just generally rhe visuals make it look SO solid in its visuals as like a very specific identity and very grounded identity rather than a more high fluff show

Third. You KNOW I was screaming at our dude Jim when that demon sprite boy told him hey I'm sober now I want you and Jim went for it. Jim you KNEW you knew that boy was a whole hot mess and a bag of cats! You knew he threw up on your floor! He was slurring and barely walking, u know that boy wasn't sober when he said he wanted to jump ur bones! (Although to be fair, I think the show may actually have decided he WAS sober since that sex scene could've been way clumsier so I guess if demon boy was sober he'll tell us in part 2 and clarify things the morning after, im assuming itll probably go this route cause thai fluff bl usually dont like to take the yikes first hookup route nowadays, i think last one i remember doing it was Together With Me). REGARDLESS my point is jim: u know what a drunk bitch looks like and even if he was sober u know it's not the kinda thing u take a risk on, it's the kinda thing u leave that dude alone in a room for the night until he cools the fuck off and looks at u in the bright morning sunshine with some goddamn confirmed clarity. It was. So funny and such a mess and such a yikes and.

Don't get me wrong I'm here for the drama I'm okay with them being messy bitches starting off in a bad way. It's just also so wild Jim had a seducing horny demon sprite looking dude who wanted to eat him up all night and saw neon flashing warning signs and was like "u know what? He knows I'm gay, I said it won't mean anything in the morning - though he said it might (another RED WARNING FLASH MY DUDE LMAO) and he is KISSING ME AND BITING MY EAR AND EATING ME UP ALRIGHT IMMA TAKE OFF MY CLOTHES I GUESS. like. ???? Alright Jim I get it

This scene works a lot better Because our dude demon sprite looks so horny and intent from the instant he enters the scenes, so the tensions already there nonstop before the moment. Otherwise it would've felt way out of left field.

But yeah lmao. U see these fools making a mistake they're running into full steam ahead and I hope the fallout is wild. I hope it's entertaining television

(I ONLY finished part 1 of ep 1 please no spoilers)

#rant #lb #moonlight chicken

26 notes · View notes

absolutebl · 2 years

Text

English Language as a Narrative Trope in BL

Just a quick note to say that in many Asian dramas (not just BL) a character speaking English is an intentional characterization trait.

In some cases it indicates a level of modernity and a kind of “punk ass” attitude (see a lot of early Kdramas, and Perth’s character in Cutie Pie).

In others it indicates allegiances to a non-standard individualistic mentality or propensity to selfishness and evil (see this EXCELLENT post on English being weaponized in KinnPorsche).

In some cases it has to do with a character’s demonstration of class and education (AKA wealth and acquired intelligence). Also being world traveled etc.. You see this applied to the wealthy CEO archetype a lot (also often depicted eating western food).

In others, the actor already speaks English and the show runners just want to show this off. (Everything is not always narratively intentional in the film industry, sorry.)

Sometimes they just fucking with us.

For chronic BL watchers, English in use in Taiwanese BL and Pinoy BL is materially different than the above, and much less innately suspicious (and applied with much less narrative/character intent). This should be obvious given both countries’ histories and relationships with English.

Finally, Japan rarely if ever uses English in this way (if at all).

As I run across good examples of all of this, I’ll try to remember to update this post.

Note: English words and terms borrowed into a language and then applied organically as part of a sentence are different, especially in the queer communities. For example, Korean dramas often use the English word kiss specially to mean romantic lip-to-lip (see Semantic Error), and the word gay is very loaded in many BLs. Discussion of that here.

Follow up

puttha-sumettikul asked:

In Ghost Host Ghost House, Kawin asks Pluem to use "I" and "you" and they have the most adorable little negotiation/settling in conversation around it. It made me so happy and I don't know why. What are your thoughts on BL utilising English particles like this? Has it been done before? What kind of weight does it hold for the characters and their relationship?

Characters talking in English always has some kind of significance in a BL. Although Kewin having lived in the United States does make a difference in this particular instance.

Use of English always tends to indicate a certain amount of modernity and youthful connection. Because it often requires higher education, speaking English can have class and money implications. I think that Cake’s use of English in the sex scene in My Only 12% is saying something along these lines.

Also the way that this show makes a point of highlighting Cake’s American friends being supportive about his relationship when Cake comes out on Facebook.

In BL from Korea it can imply characterization: a more punk-ass, overly independant and aggressive nature.

In a place like Taiwan however, everyone under a certain age is expected to have some grasp of English, so it's more simply established unless it’s used A LOT. The bartender’s use of English all the time in My Tooth Your Love clearly is somewhat more significant than normal for Taiwan.

With Kawin asks Pluem in Ghost Host, Ghost House I think part of the implication is that Kawin would like them to be more queer or gay in the global understanding of such terms than they are as a couple under the tie restrictions of Thailand’s formality of language. (He’s also younger so he wants to age up as equals in the relationship.)

The switch to and use of American pronouns instead of Thai ones, carries a ton of weight in terms of an implied equal footing within the relationship and moving away from age restrictions and age dynamics.

This, in turn, allows Kawin more freedom and agency in terms of their sex scenes. As the implied uke this narrative, he should be more blushing maiden and les proactive and interested in sex. But this narrative just allows him to be himself about the whole situation, and I think in part this negotiation was to give him a certain level of intimacy and autonomy as an agent in his own sexual destiny.

Their using English pronouns to bypass a socially establish pattern of behavior that has been imposed by the pre-existing history of the culture around those pronouns. As such it says A LOT about how these two see each other and their relationship (as equals, but also as modern representative of gayness).

(source)

dated late 2022

#chinese bl #thai bl #korean bl #kinnporsche #cutie pie #bl linguistics #vietnamese bl #semantic error #taiwanese bl #pinoy bl #japanese bl

223 notes · View notes

mejomonster · 3 years

Note

I was there was a GL version of the Untamed with 40+ episodes but predominantly female dramas don’t do that well unless the leads are well known (I would love to see two popular actresses be in a GL Wuxia or xianxia drama as the leads).

SAME I WANT THAT SO BADLY

below the cut is just. mm. musings and some novels i’ve found, although still looking for more.

i would absolutely love a gl wuxia or xianxia drama. my hope is sort of that since bl is getting some surge in adaptations, and there’s some tentative bigger gl* coming out this year, if they do well then they might be made more often as it will be seen as less of a risk maybe? since teams will have seen how well it does/what to expect. so ahh. i hope...

*(also this is just my optimism talking, but i sort of love the shaw eleven lang For All the Badass women, and the fact i very much ship the 2 main heroines - they have a guy they both like but also i just love how they interact. its sort of the opposite situation as My Roommate is a Detective or Detective L with a trio core, the women have chemistry together and just happen to have a 3rd party they’re romantic with. this is just me watching the first handful of eps tho but, definitely a tiny draw for me. also it really does not pull punches about women kicking ass, which was refreshing after Eternal Love that so often took the women out of fights. And Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain is an ensemble cast, with a m/w main couple, but both of them have intense bi energy and flirt with their respective same gender friends before their own romance together kicks off, which felt really nice to see so casually in a drama? i watched about half of that.)

which, not even just in cdramas but 2 female leads in general in shows isn’t as particularly common... or else we’d have more stuff like killing eve, and i can’t think of any female led period stuff except maybe kind of black sails - or gentleman jack or harlots which i plan to check out but haven’t. i can think of a lot of 2 male lead shows, and a fair number of ensemble cast shows, but not that many with 2 female leads which. mm i’d like more of.

i am also. constantly on the lookout for female lead cdramas. i just made the list of potential gl dramas but, tbh even just 2 female main leads could be nice (like dear missy). i can think of some good ensemble cast stuff but not many with 2 female leads.

even in cnovels, when i look for translations i’ve found FGEP (Female General and Eldest Princess) and JWQS (Clear and Muddy Loss of Love). but not many others.

Although I just did a search now and found Didn’t Know the General was Female being translated and completed by chichi. The Witch Nichang being translated by leirion. Princess Spare my life, and Eastward Flow. So I’m excited to see there’s more being actively translated now compared to the last time I checked!

I’ve been looking for sci fi gl novels and mystery ones (kind of in the vein of Silent Reading by Priest?) but when i look into larger rec lists on like cnovel sites with rankings its hard for me to figure out which ones are my kinda thing without reading a few chapters and. last time i did that i clicked a modern romance fluff one about college students which is 100% not my thing so i gave up looking that way for a while.

I am very much always open to hear about and gl drama recommendations or novel recommendations! If anyone has them please!

In that post I did I mentioned the ones I knew about. Also like - Pearl Next Door which aired recently, which while its not my kind of thing exactly i Loved how true to life it felt and grounded the characters were and the actors all did <3. And Legend of Yunqian which is short but <3

#replies #ask #anonymous #gl #gl dramas #gl cnovels #ok well. ive heard in the donghua community a lot of love for the fgep novel #and possible rumors it might get a donghua adaptation which #would be really nice i think #it already has a manhua #and i know ive found an audo drama although im not sure if it was fanmade #but theres definitely some vocal interest in some of these gl novels getting adapted #and i think if a few make it big like the untamed #that might push more willingness for teams to try to actually make those stories #although also like. thai dramas and taiwan are already making some #also a shout out to twdrama Bromance which is not a bl or a gl #but baron chen is in it and it handles gender in a very interesting way #its a take on the girl dressed as man except she's lived as a man her whole life #and its sort of like her wanting to identify as a woman? but also not minding continuing to identify as a man #but im only 20 eps in so im not sure how the journey is going yet #but its a nuanced show despite being so kindheartedly light. taiwan has some great dramas #also the cdrama Bureau of Transformer #which features 2 bi leads and one is nonbinary #and it was refreshing i guess seeing a lead i could relate to that way

11 notes · View notes

absolutebl · 2 years

Note

"Rewatch value is a huge deal for me." What are some shows with high rewatch value for you then? Sorry if you already answered this question. I watched the first episode of KinnPorche tonight and then was stuck on what I should be watching next. x_x What is the 10/10 BL series you can think of off the top of your head? Maybe I should give Why R U? a chance..

My Top Picks

10 Most Rewatchable BLs

This has to be a completely arbitrary call, I'm afraid. What I find rewartchable may not be what others find rewatchable. It's going to hit my highest rated 10/10 BLs right away and then a few oddballs. A BL doesn't get a 10/10 from me if I don't find it rewatchable.

1. Seven Days (Japan 2015)

One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes (rare in Japanese BL). The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

Popular first year Seiryo has a policy of going out with any girl who asks… for one week. On a lark, third year Yuzuru tests to see if that policy also applies to boys. Seiryo agrees that it does. Along the way they accidentally fall in love, although each is convinced the other one thinks it’s just for a week.

Full review here. Last I checked could find it on YouTube and DramaCool in 2 parts Seven Days: Monday - Thursday, Seven Days: Friday - Sunday) I tend to rewatch the whole thing.

2. Color Rush (Korea 2021)

A unique paranormal twist elevates this classic high school drama into a pitch-perfect allegory for the queer coming out experience and one of the best BLs of all time (I will fight you on this).

Monos can only see in grey scale, until they meet their probes. But when they do, monos can turn into obsessive monsters over the one person that turns on the world color. When Yeon Woo meets his probe, however, that boy seems a lot more obsessed with him.

Color Rush is on Viki. I tend to rewatch the whoel thing in its movie form.

3. Light On Me (Korea 2021)

Korea does an elegant pastiche of traditional live action yaoi but all tropes are cleverly deployed to bolster one of the most riveting love triangles ever put on screen… and I don’t like love triangles!

TaeKyung is a bit awkward and introverted and has never really wanted friends, but suddenly he thinks that might have been a bad life choice. So he joins the student council where he meets, among others, two very different boys who both want more than friendship from him.

Light On Me is on Viki. I mostly rewatch the second half.

4. To My Star (Korea 2021)

It’s is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams.

Famous actor (adorable bundle of neurosis) takes refuge in the house of a reserved chef and is immediately smitten by Mr Tall Dark & Glowering. The chef is also smitten but refuses to admit it to himself or anyone else.

Full review here. To My Star is on Viki. I tend to rewatch the whole thing in the movie form.

5. We Best Love 1 & 2 (Taiwan 2021)

WBL is composed of two parts: We Best Love: No 1 for You & We Best Love: Fighting Mr 2nd. The 1st season is a short run classic university set BL combining the best of Korea & Thailand’s modern takes on genre. The 2nd season moves into the office, and employs Japanese style in terms of setting, obsession, and mature concepts. WBL thus successfully managed to pick up and combine the best features of Korean, Thai, and Japanese BL as it exists right now. Couple that to the insane chemistry from the leads, and we have one of the greatest BLs of all time, cooking to a recipe I doubt anyone else will ever be able to replicate since only Taiwan is this flexible.

Story wise it’s pretty classic: Shi De has been in love with Shu Yi since childhood, but Shu Yi has always seen them as rivals. In university, events finally conspire for Shi De to make his move. It’s the ultimate tsundere uke versus the ultimate pining seme. Part two follows them into the workplace after a breakup.

I love this show so much, odds are I’m currently rewatching it as you read this. I tend to rewatch specific episodes.

6. Until We Meet Again (Thailand 2019)

Thailand’s only entry in my 10/10 category (from the BL mass producer). This is non BL trope reliant fated mates (AKA soulmates) romance that just happens to have the right setting and age of protagonists to fit the BL genre. UWMA is a work of narrative genius, and all the actors all turn in stellar performances, it is the best Thai BL from a storytelling perspective. Possibly the best BL story we’ll ever get. It also takes full advantage of Thailand’s signature full treatment, never dragging despite 17 full episodes.

Timid sweetheart Pharm meets older serious Dean on his first day of university and is both irresistibly drawn to him and inexplicably sad. Dean starts an intense slow courtship but they both begin to realize they’ve been through this all before and one of them, 30 years ago in a previous life, made a terrible mistake. Can their current selves survive the sins and betrayals of their past?

UWMA can be seen on YouTube. I tend to rewatch specific episodes.

7. Semantic Error (Korea 2022)

Korea hits it entirely out of the Parks (pun on the actors’ last names intended) by doing a university set BL with everything we might expect but done exactly right, their signature quality executed perfectly, and added bonus good story, great pacing, and fantastic chemistry. This one is actually flawless. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL.

Talented graphic artist Jaeyoung (emotional agro older seme) discovers Sangwoo has outed him as a slacker which means he’s not graduating this year. He sets out to find out who Sangwoo is and get revenge, accidentally develops a big o’crush. Sangwoo is a morally grounded strict routine based reserved programmer (logical uke) who’s world is entirely shaken by the chaos that is Jaeyoung. I love “the only one who can bully him is me” trope especially when said bully melts into all over whipped for his boy.

Jaeyoung pined like a master. Like Park Seo Ham took lessons from Sam Lin. And Sangwoo crumbles into complete submission like he’s been waiting for Jaeyoung his whole life. It’s an absolute pleasure to watch these two on screen together. (Full review here.)

Semantic Error is on Viki. I tend to rewatch from episode 3 (the bar fight) onwards.

8. Be Loved In House: I Do (Taiwan 2021)

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns, plus ALL THE TROPES and a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan, who usually prefer to go hard (Viki). I tend to rewatch only the last few episodes.

9. HIStory 2: Crossing the Line (Taiwan 2018)

Taiwan’s best example of classic BL with a sports romance foundation using some of the most prototypical (but fortunately least offensive) yaoi tropes (Viki). I tend to rewatch the whole thing.

10. Utsukushii Kare AKA My Beautiful Man (Japan 2021)

One of the best most traditionally live action yaoi to release in the last decade. It used seriously old school manga derived problematic and kinky tropes, like whipping boy, for a truly classic piece that also manages to hit up modern themes of communication, consent, and self acceptance. It’s a wonderful BL, uniquely dirty and harsh in the best possible way. (GaGaOOLaLa) I tend to rewatch just the last two episodes.

Others I have rewatched a lot because of what was available when I first joined the fandom, or for random oddball personal reasons.

Cherry Magic AKA 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii (Japan 2020)

Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart (Korea 2020)

Oxygen the series (Thai 2020)

A First Love Story (Strongberry Korea 2021)

Some More (Strongberry Korea 2018)

Dark Blue Kiss (Thai 2019) just PeteKao

Love By Chance (Thai 2018) just AePete

Why R U? (Thai 2020) just FighterTutor

The Tasty Florida (Korea 2021)

Love Sick (Thai 2014-2015)

Addicted (China 2016)

Make it Right (Thai 2016-2017)

Private Lessons (Strongberry Korea 2020)

(source)

Updated April 2022.

221 notes · View notes

absolutebl · 3 years

Text

This Week in BL

April 2021 Part 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Second Chance Ep 3 - this is proper YA, they are dealing with actual high school issues, picking uni, first crushes, online dating, etc... We even got a senior prom trope which almost never happens in Thai stuff (just the freshman uni competition variant). Standard plot pacing means PaperFah’s kiss was too early, might indicate we’re moving to uni in the second half of the series? Tropes included: let me feed you, hand hold, black & white striped shirt, floppy drunk & first kiss.

Y-Destiny Ep 3 - the first MaxNat ep. Such fun to see them playing different characters. This one is enemies to lovers, tutor/student, but it’s using the “poor little rich kid loose cannon” archetype. Nat is doing his best, but it’s leaving me cold. Lots of tropes tho: boyfriend’s closet, floppy drunk, pillow clutch, the loom & water bottle.

Lovely Writer Ep 8 - solid installment, good use of many tropes. I really like the leads and I’m glad there isn’t much side dish action, SibGene gave us: punish, touch your face, boyfriend claiming, kissing, sleep cuddling, symmetry, rooftop, cheek kiss, hand hold, and pillow clutch.

Call It What You Want Ep 3-4 - couldn’t find the subs, don’t really care, will watch if it crosses my radar, otherwise I’m just not into it.

Brothers Ep 11 - the “everyone wants Chol” show continues (but WHY?), he and Tri are cute together, and now I kinda just want Prab to end up with the twins. I’m confused by the teachers, but Boston showed up (from UWMA), and my boys KhunKaow got together (YES!), so I’m ultimately delighted with the episode.

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 2 - the makeover happened, and we go from cute with glasses and braces to cute without them. (I’m reminded of those 90′s Pygmalion teen movies where the girl has glasses + ponytail and then *GASP* does not and *GASP* she’s HOT. This was the BL version.) Meanwhile, writers better be careful with Pi, he’s getting too tsundere to like. Did you see they gave AJ a 2gether music intro & pick up line? Well, it’s actually his brother JJ who plays Ohm in 2g. I cackled. GMMTV - you so cheeky.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 5 - half way point. My poor confused babies. It was a really sweet episode... if what happened before hadn’t happened in the way that it had. Also, these boys have a GREAT friendship but are probably the worst advice givers ever.

Most Peaceful Place (Vietnam) Ep 3 fin - so cute! Our boys confessed and got together. There was an adorable mutual kiss (I love me a mutual, like Ingredients). Afterwards, they actually seemed to communicate with each other about both sex and their relationship. OMG. How original for BL! This was the last episode, so the series is short, but I still enjoyed it very much. RECOMMENDED.

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 1-2 - oh boy this one is rough, we started out with homophobia child abuse and moved on to family drama + drunken dub-con one night stand. But production values and subs are better than normal for Vietnam (You Are My Boy levels) + our queer babies are out & proud + it’s higher heat + I’m weak. So I’m watching.

Word of Honor (China) Ep 25-27 - honestly not much happened, lots of back story. Things are looking dire for the ghosts unless they can turn the Scorpion (I LOVE HIM, he’s my precious deadly baby). Don’t know how they managed to make loosing a battle with an immortal sword god ex-friend cute... but they did. Did some calculations and at 36 eps, mathematically speaking, ep 30 will be the equivalent of a standard BL ep 11. Should I be scared for next week?

Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korea) Ep 1-2 - it’s so effing adorbs, soft bois do old fashioned tropes like arranged marriage + evil stepsisters meets the more modern fake relationship + secret identity in a surprisingly comfortable mix. It launched with baby is a floppy drunk, forced proximity, performative I saw you feed him, and some fun gay panic. It’s a lot lighter and faster paced than I was expecting, but this is Korea so I don’t know why I’m surprised.

Stand Alones

K-pop band OnlyOneOf dropped a new MV that is basically BL bait, using many of the tropes we know and love. I promise I’m not trying to lure anyone into K-pop I just thought it was interesting how consciously they’re yaoi dipping.

Spin-off We Best Love Fighting Mr. 2nd, Shou Zhen | the Only Love Letter Once Written (SERIOUSLY WITH THE TITLES TAIWAN?) anyway there’s a something or other 25 minutes featuring Pei Shou Yi and his boy that aired Friday. It’s about 10 minutes of reboot footage with 15 min of new content, mostly set in the past. It entirely rests on Chih Tian Shih’s acting, fortunately for us he’s great. However, it doesn’t substantially change or add to these characters’ arcs from the finale of WBL season 2. I don’t know if there will be more or if this was just an extra footage fan service.

COLOR RUSH GOT ITS MOVIE!!! Okay this is almost the tipping point for me to get Viki Standard. It’s listed at 1:56 minutes long but the original series had only c.120 running time - that is a lot of new content. Although i was disappointed by To My Star’s movie I loved Wish You’s, so I am hoping Color Rush got Wish You level treatment. That said, I feel Color Rush the series is damn near perfect already, hard to improve on perfection.

Breaking News

Close Friend the series got an updated trailer featuring MaxNat (no subs) so if you like them in Y-Destiny or in Why R U get ready for them to play different characters again, this time for a sports romance segment. Like Y-Destiny, Close Friend looks to be another series of vignettes (Original trailer) coming April 22.

2gether the movie (Thai trailer) was intended release April 22 but is now postponed due to a surge in C19 cases in Thailand.

Tell the World I Love You, a Thai BL movie that was supposed to release last week, is similarly delayed.

My Ride has been postponed indefinitely with no airing date.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear got a teaser vid, no eng subs.

Gossip

Thai BL actors Nanon (Bad Buddy), Yoon (YYY), and Mark Siwat (LBC, Bite Me) have tested positive for C19. Press releases stated they’re fine, tho filming has paused fore their various projects, obvs. (No word on whether Nanon’s current project was Bad Buddy or not, although it seems likely given his recent Arm Share episode.)

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

189 notes · View notes

absolutebl · 3 years

Text

This Week In BL

Feb 2021 Part 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series Thai

Manner of Death Ep 11 - a nice beefcake twist, then another twist, plus proud gay dads. We are mighty pleased.

Cupid Coach Ep 4 - Unbearably boring. I’m out. We are not amused.

My Bromance Ep 9 - FINALE I watched it unsubbed (I’ve NOT been following since ep 3) and it looks like it has a nice cute happy ending. I’m now interested in binging it once good subs become available.

1000 Stars Ep 2 - was a lot better than Ep 1, the mains have okay chemistry, the kids are serviceable (child actors, shudder), but I’m really loving all the side characters. We are cautiously optimistic.

Ongoing Series Not Thai

You Are Ma Boy Ep 5 (Vietnam) - pacing still good, cuties are still giving it their all, solid little series with bumpy side couples, confession call & response continues apace.

To My Star Ep 7-9 FINALE (Korea) - quirky as all goddamn getup, but so fucking cinnamon roll tasty. Charming end. Recommended so long as you realize we are in Mr Heart style K-BL. (Also @coldties posted a killer MV for this one.) This one will get a movie rerelease like Wish You, hopefully also on Netflix.

We Best Love: No. 1 For You Ep 6 FINALE (Taiwan) - we got to see boyfriends being domestic af adorable with an ending that was a touch bittersweet but very college appropriate. With season 2 coming March 5 I am disposed to be VERY PLEASED.

What will we do with ourselves and nothing new out of Korea or Taiwan for two WHOLE weeks?

Stand Alone

I rewatched Wish You (2020 Korean series WISH YOU: Your Melody From My Heart now retitled - thank fuck - and available as a movie on Netflix). I have to say Yoon Sang Yi delivers some excellent pining. I’m not a huge insta-love person and there’s some character dev flaws, but it holds up really well and delivers more as a movie then it did as a series.

One of my favorite catches on the rewatch was the way Yoon Sang Yi’s jacket sleeves are always too long. It’s such a perfect little character trait. He is so shy and careful that he shrugs smaller into his coat, and also he hides his hands - when, as a pianist, his hands represent his self actualization and art. He only exposes them when making music... or holding Kang In Soo‘s hand.

Incidentally, I was moved to look these two up... both out of K-pop. (This is my shocked face.)

Breaking News

Lovey Writer dropped its official trailer at last, looking good and trope-filed. It’s set to start Feb 24th.

Top Secret Together dropped its first promo material (Thai, no eng subs). I’m excited about this one, it’s being lead out by an IRL couple.

My Engineer 2

The ME boys dropped an adorable gossip heavy promo vid. ME 2 is finishing up the script and will probably begin filming in April. It’s supposed to still release in 2021 (which makes me worry about post and explains a lot about some of Thai BL’s audio quality issues). With April filming, my guess is for an October (but more likely November) release.

Close Friend

Lay talked about his Close Friend project, which is a MV series from BOX Music featuring musically-inclined actors with established BL pairings so:

KimCop (MarkKit from Gen Y)

JimmyTommy (SaifahZon from Why R U)

JaFirst (LeoFiat from TharnType 2)

YoonLay (NottPun from YYY)

Y-Destiny

Perth talked about Y-Destiny (previous title Destiny) which presumably is already filmed because he said it will be on air at the beginning of this year. As this is a Cheewin project, expect it to be something odd, campy, and frenetic in the YYY style. My guess is they’ll wait until You Only Eat Alone has completed its run before airing Y-Destiny, because who can take more than one Cheewin at a time? No one. Not even Thailand.

KinnPorsche

Perth also talked about KinnPorsche. He said it would be on air... but that he wasn’t allowed to say the date, so we can hope this means they finally got distribution. (The excitement over the trailer probably helped - it has over a million views.) He also said they would start filming soon (so Feb/March) which means, if everything goes smoothly, a late summer release at the earliest. However, with an independent studio, high production values, big cast, and fight sequences I would expect KP to have more post than most BLs, so my guess is it will air towards the end of the year. (And I would be scared for quality if they tried for any earlier.)

KinnPorsche cast also continues to work the BL talk show circuit, they made an appearance on Sosat Seoul Say. Mile & Apo are adorable + good chemistry, in fact the whole cast is adorable with good chemistry, so I’m excited for this series.

Gossip

Cutest beans, Sam & Yu of We Best Love, have been dropping the most charming little lives ever. I’m so pleased we are getting a second season out of them. I can’t remember the title because, ya know, Taiwanese titles are beyond bonkers. But season 2 is listed now.

Hong Kong is reported to be filming its first BL Series (15 eps to air on VIUTV). It will be an adaptation of 2018 Japanese BL drama Ossan’s Love (maybe same title?). Like Cherry Magic this is an office romcom: 30s single man who isn't popular with women lives with his parents. When they kick him out, he moves in with a coworker. Turns out this guy has a crush on him, as does another dude from his office. Foundational tropes: Office romance meets forced proximity meets love triangle. I expect the style out of Hong Kong to be somewhat similar to Taiwan, however they are politically less independent of China Main (although culturally VERY different) so this series could be DOA (for gay) or get killed early in its run (see Addicted web series - or don’t see it, if you’re in China). Also, like the Japanese original (and unlike most Taiwanese stuff), expect VERY low heat. That said, 15 eps is nothing to sneeze at, even if they are only 15-20 min each. So I guess I am... intrigued?

Next Week Looks Like This:

February Update: Others that are airing but I’m not following:

Fools (Vietnamese) - I don’t think it’s going to end happily (it’s from the Stage of Love peeps), so I’m waiting to binge if it does

Brothers (Thai) - deals with taboo relationships from the Thank God it’s Friday people (this will not end well)

Happenstance (Pinoy) - I don’t follow Pinoy BL closely

One Day Pag-ibig (Pinoy) - ibid

Love or Lie (Pinoy) - ibid

The Alter (Pinoy) - ibid

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

#thai bl #thaibl #bl 2021 #bl gossip #upcoming bl #my engineer 2 #kinnporsche #y-destiny #close friend project #ossan’s love #hong kong bl #chinese bl #taiwanese bl #Vietnamese BL #Vietnamese drama #pinoy bl #pinoy drama #lovely writer #We Best Love: No.1 For You

104 notes · View notes